Shield High Avengers
by AlbertaRose
Summary: Highschool Football AU. The Avengers are on a mission to win the state Championship! But our favorite heros have a lot of surprises left in their senior year. All the pairings from the movies, with a dash of teenage hormones.
1. Chapter 1

AN: So this plot bunny was born as I was watching Remember the Titans and working on some of my other Avenger fics. It wanted to be written. So bad I couldn't do anything else for the past two days.

It also has a special dedication to my three brothers, all of which have played football, and two of which still are. Thor, Hulk and Iron Man, I love you all to bits.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Litterally. the TV isn't even mine.

* * *

Steve parked his motorcycle, and slung his gym bag over his shoulder. The fresh air was cooler than it had been in a long time, annoucing the end of summer and the start of his favorite season of the year.

Football season.

He was early, but that didn't faze him. He liked being early. It gave him time to compose himself, prepare for the team, bring his own morale up so he could help the others. As captain and quarterback, it was his job. He liked the complete silence in the stadium and changerooms when he first arrived, it was something special.

He walked in slowly and started to change into his pads. It was the other reason he got there early. In freshman year, testosterone had finally kicked in and training had become a bit of an obession, leading him to bulk out in a serious way, on top of growing almost ten inches in one summer. But before that, he had been skinny and extremely shy. Gym had been the bane of his existance, because more often than not he got teased for his tiny physique and his ass kicked by those that had already started to grow facial hair.

It was not the case anymore, but Steve still felt ever so slightly self concious. If he could avoid changing in front of people, he did. Even if he towered at just over six foot three, many of the cheerleaders had swoon as he smiled politely at them, he was still aware that under the relatively new muscle and uniform, he was still the skinny kid that got asthma attacks if he ran for more than a hundred yards.

Bruce was the second to arrive, just minutes after Steve. It had been a huge debate last year if Bruce was actually part of the team or not. Steve insisted he was, and defended his friend rather ferociously. Bruce Banner was relatively small, with a mop of brown hair and spectacles whenever he was reading something, which was most of the time. But his skill at plotting plays was undeniably part of the success of the team.

Two years ago, Bruce had gone to see his friends at their first game of the season. His mind had not been able to sleep for two days as he covered several notebooks in play ideas, using the talents of the players rather than whatever was the fashion to pull them off. He had proposed them to Tony, his best friend, one evening and the last had taken it straight to the coach. Fury was reluctant at first, but eventually decided to practice and try a few of the plays.

They won their next three consecutive games. And Bruce had come to every practice since, a tablet in his hand as his fingers whized over it, spotting weaknesses in the other team and plotting their next move. He was a large part of what had won them a state championship in sophomore year. Since then, his position on the team grew to include trainer, medic and waterboy positions, all of which he preformed with admirable enthusiam. This year, Fury had decided on a new title for him that encompassed all his jobs; assistant coach. He was the only student coach in the entire league. Even with no athletic ability whatsoever, he had forged himself a place on the team.

"Hey Steve! Good summer?" Bruce said as he spotted Steve in the changeroom.

"So far. You?" Steve answered with a smile.

"Alright."

There was a loud crash then, followed by several voices yelling loudly, and Steve couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his lips. Thor and Volstagg did not know how to make a discrete entrance. Thor was the biggest guy on the team, playing line backer, and once or twice, offensive line. Even Steve had to look up at him, but the giant was one of the nicest guys he had ever met. Transferred in from some school in Sweden, he was very friendly, if occasionally boisterous and bold.

Volstagg was also loud. His red hair and scraggly beard (he was one of the only ones on the team that could grow one, and was extremely proud of it), made him look scary, but again, he was more boisterous than bullying. He played both offensive and defensive line, though it was clear he prefered offensive. He claimed it involved less running around.

The two loud teamates were followed by a laughing Fandral. Blond with brilliant eyes, he was a complete playboy, second only to Tony Stark. He played receiver, and he used his touchdowns to woo the girls of the school. Still, Steve respected his skill and appreciated that he always had a smile on his face.

Hokun followed his boisterous friends, a small smile playing on his lips. The boy hardly ever spoke, but he was like a ninja on the field. He played receiver too, opposite Fandral, but his style was completely different. He could beat the defense while Fandral had them distracted, leaving the field open in front for the run. As soon as the opposing team figured the strategy and started covering him harder, he could weave his way out right under their noses.

Each of the guys greeted Steve, before starting to get into their own pads as well, laughing the whole time. Steve quickly learnt that Thor had met a girl, a physics nerd named Jane and the others were teasing him relentlessly about it. Steve hoped she wouldn't become a distraction.

Sif was the next to arrive. She was the only girl on the team, and she had fought to be there hard. Steve had learnt very early on not to cross her, because she was completely unafraid of kicking his ass into next week. During the off season, she had joined the wrestling team, and won another state championship on her own. Most of the teams had laughed at them for having a girl on the team, but their smiles were gone as soon as she sacked their quarterback a couple times. As safety, she was an excellent judge of the play, and if the oppertunity came to cut the head off early, she took it. She had a nack for spotting the nervous ones, and had actually made one of them cry once.

She was already dressed, her hair in a ponytail, poking her head in looking for Bruce.

"He's somewhere on the field already." Steve said, giving her a polite smile.

The rest of the team was slowly filtering in, with Clint Barton arriving near the end. He was the other good friend of Steve's and on the field they made a hell of a team. Clint played running back, and even if he was quite a bit smaller than most, he was fast and strong, as well as having the reflexes of a housefly. At five foot ten, he was one of the shortest guys on the team, but Steve would always remember the time he had put Thor on his ass during faceoff drills. The advantage to being short, he said, was that he could hit lower, throwing off his opponents center of gravity. Clint knew that he didn't get any points for size, so instead he focused on strength, speed and raw skill, all of which he had.

Steve was just about to head onto the field when Tony Stark strolled in, late as usual. Steve's least favorite person on the team. Tony's arrogance knew no bounds, and the only thing that kept him on the team, other than his money, was the fact that he obeyed every order Steve gave when they were on the field. Off the field was another story entirely. Tony played kicker, meaning he spent most of his time off the field anyway, which suited Steve just fine.

"Alright! Out on the field, lets go!" Steve shouted, leading the way into the sunshine.

"One sec! I've got presents!" Tony yelled over the noise and everyone turned to him. Steve stiffled a groan. If Tony had brought a bottle of whiskey again, he didn't care, he'd get him kicked off the team faster than you could say drunk.

But he was opening a large box Steve had not noticed in the corner.

"After our last game, I decided we need a new name." Steve sighed. This was so STARK. "We need to get back at the Warriors for their win. We are the best team in the state and we know it!" Several players, including Thor, Volstagg and Barton gave cheers. "So gentlemen, Sif, I present to you, the Shield High Avengers!" He proclaimed proudly, holding up a bright white jersey with an A printed on the front. "And as a bonus, because no other team is like ours." He turned the jersey around, revealing the stamping across the top. "They're personalized!" Steve could not help but smile as he saw that Stark held up his jersey, with RODGERS in bold letters across the top, over his number 5. He thought he would have to wait till college ball, and only if he got into a good one to get a jersey like that.

Not with Tony Stark he guessed.

The entire team was cheering, pulling off their old, Renegades jerseys and pulling on the new Avengers ones.

Steve was the only one who noticed Tony look a little sad as the boxes were torn open and the team walked out onto the field for the first day of camp.

* * *

Clint was exhausted. His muscles hurt everywhere and all he wanted was to take a hot shower and lie in bed until the first day of school.

Camp had been five long days two practices a day, but even he could say that they were successful ones. The team was filled with an energy that he would not have predicted, and a determination that was like a virus, infecting everyone. After their last game, a horrible defeat at the hands of their nemisis team, he had not thought they could bounce back. But then again, Tony Stark was a pretty smart man, and Bruce had spent more time with the game footage than anyone over the summer. Steve was exhuding confidence and Thor was just plain happy to be playing again. It was hard not to get pumped in that kind of atmosphere.

Their overconfidence had been their weakness, he knew that. He had known that then, but had ignored it and it had bitten them in the ass. They had been sure they were going to win, so much so that by the time the third quarter rolled around and they were still down 18 to zero, it had taken all the wind out of their sails. The defeat had been hard and humiliating for a team that had been undefeated all year.

This year, he'd be the voice of reason, he decided as he drove home in his old pickup truck. He'd help keep the team focused.

And maybe get the guts to finally admit he was into a certain Redhead.

Natasha had come to their school in sophomore year. From Russia apparently. No one had trusted her and for her first week at school, she hadn't talked to anyone. There was something incredibly dangerous about her. Like she could kill you with a glare. Clint had taken his courage with both hands, and struck up a friendly conversation with her in chemestry. She hadn't trusted him, it was clear, but she had responded. He kept talking to her, being friendly, working over the chemestry problems in the back of class. It was clear she did not need any help in the subject, but he definitely did, so it had been a win win. He had invited her over to his house to study for finals, and he started to think she might actually want to be friends. Over the summer, they had hung out a lot. He got the feeling she didn't like being inside, so they had gone out. Rollerblading, paintballing, swimming, and camping, they had done it all. One over-night trip, she had finally opened up a little.

She told him about how her parents had died in a fire back in Russia. Her only living relative was an uncle whom she had never met before, living here in America, so she had been packed off and sent to live with him. He was drunk most of the time, and hated being burdened with a sixteen year old, so she kept to herself as much as she could.

He in turn told her about Barney, his best kept secret. Years back, Barney had been an idol for Clint. He had looked up to his brother, having lost their parents when they were young. Barney had been popular, smart and successful. Until he had gotten into a car drunk after a party, and run over two teens. As if that was not bad enough, the girl he had taken to the party filed a date rape charge against him.

Clint's world had crumbled as his eighteen year old brother was shipped off to jail. Now living with foster parents of his own, he had thrown himself into archery and football, working his body so hard it would shut up his mind. He had grown to like football, though not as much as he loved archery. His arms were lean and hard, and he had gotten quite a few looks from girls in school.

He and Natasha had grown quite close since then. When she couldn't stand it at her uncle's she came to Clint's house, more often than not sneaking up through the window. She helped him with his homework, since he was not exactly the studious type and she just seemed to get it all naturally. They would talk until they slept. She would fall asleep in his bed and more than once he had to force his teenage brain to ignore her. Once or twice, in their sleep, she would curl up against him, and he would sell his soul before saying to anyone that those moments were the highlight of his entire junior year. His foster parents were not the most horrible of people, but he never shared with them the fact that a girl spent up to five nights a week sleeping in his room. She always snuck out the window as soon as she woke up anyway.

As soon as Clint got home, he gave a quick hello to his foster dad, who was watching a basketball game with a beer in his hand. Judging by the smell, he was already in the double digits. His foster mom wasn't home yet, so he padded upstairs and took a long shower, letting the hot water undo all the tension in his muscles. He knew he would be sore for the next two days, but he had also promised Natasha to meet out in the woods behind the rec center to shoot cans off the fence. His old BB gun, a relic from his dad was one of the few things Clint carted with him through the many moves he had done.

Wrapping a towel around himself, he headed to his room, leaving his smelly clothes in the hamper. He was about to pull on a pair of boxers when he heard a voice behind him, causing him to jump about six feet into the air and nearly drop the towel he had clutched at his waist.

"Hey, Barton. How was camp?" Natasha was sprawled out on his bed, smiling at him impishly.

"For the love of God, Natasha. I'm naked!"

"No you are wearing a towel" she volleyed back. It was one of the things he liked about her. Except right now, he kinda wished she didn't want to make fun of him, or poke him. He was exhausted and not even dressed.

"Do you mind?" he said pointedly.

"Not at all." She answered still grinning. He waited, but she didn't turn away. "Fine." she said after a minute, spinning to face the headboard. He suddenly wondered if she wanted to see him naked. His brain took that and ran with it, forcing other currently unwelcome thoughts as he pulled on a pair of boxers and some pyjama pants, not bothering with a shirt, as it was still warm. Taking a deep breath, he tried to force his body to calm down. He did NOT want to get into bed with Natasha with a semi.

"Thank you." he muttered as he threw himself on the bed next to her. The first time she had seen him without a shirt had been when they had gone swimming for the day at the lake. The whole team had been invited, and to spare himself humiliation, he had taken his shirt off too, revealing a number of scars across his chest and back. Natasha had been more than nice, and no one had mentioned them. He appreciated it, both from his team and from her.

Later that night, she had snuck up into his room, and waited until he told her. He knew she wanted to know, but he also realised that her not asking had been a sign for him to take the time he needed to tell her. As a child, he and his brother had gone through a number of foster homes, several of which had been less than friendly. The scars were from a combination of one bad foster dad who liked to whip kids, several other foster kids who took out their own frustrations on a then five year old Clint, and his own attempts to try and gain some ground to stand on, usually ending up with him on the ground bleeding. She had listened, and not said a word after, just letting him fall asleep. It was just one of the other ways Natasha knew him.

"So? How was camp?" Natasha asked again. He groaned.

"Nat, I'm exhausted. Camp was good. Can I sleep now? Till Monday? Actually make that Tuesday."

"You're a whiner sometimes, you know. Budge up." she said shoving him so she could lay down next to him. He rolled over to look at the ceiling.

"Why haven't you tried out for the team yet?"

"I don't want to be the only girl."

"You wouldn't be. Sif is on the team too. We could use someone as fast as you. Plus, all the other teams would be totally distracted by you." She gave him a dry chuckle. It was a widely known fact that Natasha was the sexiest girl in school, despite the fact that not one person had dated her.

"No thanks. Not interested."

"Alright. I still think you should. I bet Steve would let you on in a second. Especially after gym class last year." Natasha had beaten most of the school records for track in gym class the year before. On a bet, she had sprinted two hundred meters beating Clint, Hokun and Fandral all in one, making her not only the fastest girl, but also the fastest person in the whole school. She had taken several different forms of martial arts, and could throw even Thor to the ground quite easily. She was a tough one.

"Again, no thanks."

His eyes were already closing, unable to stay open now that he was lying down and comfortable. He was secretly glad Natasha was here. He always slept better when she was.

* * *

Tony stared at the boards in front of him. He was vaguely aware that it was nearly three in the morning, and he was expected to be at school in less than six hours, but he didn't care.

His summer had not been as awesome as he had let the others on the team think it was. He had not gone to Hawaii. He had not made out with sixteen different chicks. He had had the worse summers of his life.

After his father had died, a year ago, he had been put in charge of Stark Industries. This summer, he had had an epiphany upon seeing a small village wrecked by bombs. His bombs. Happy had tried to push him away, avoid him seeing the destruction, bring his attention back to the clients, hie eyes had stuck on the three year old sobbing on the rubble. The second he had gotten on the jet, he had decided it was time to change. He had spent the entire summer shutting down each and every weapons manufacture he owned, shifting into power, into anything else.

The only pleasent thing about his summer had been Pepper. Student body president, smart beautiful Pepper, had been hired at Stark Industries as a summer internship in a secretorial position. As soon as he had set his mind on the new direction, most of his staff had revolted, tried to convince him otherwise, tell him he was insane. She had spoken up, congratulated him and stood by him the entire time.

He had always noticed Pepper. It was hard not to, seeing as she was the only girl he had ever met who did not throw herself at him. And he knew she wasn't gay, she had dated Fandral for a couple of weeks in their sophomore year, dumping his ass when he tried to go too fast. She was nice to everyone, smart as hell and always in control. Better than that, she supported him. Even if he was an ass, if he was arrogant, she was nice. He couldn't shake feelings for her.

But Pepper was not the reason he was still up. No, his newest plan was.

Power was a field he had thrown himself in. He might still be in highschool, but that was by choice. He had built computers, robots, weapons. Now he was working on a new project. Creating clean energy, something that could keep his company afloat and shut his stockholders up. The reactor on the board was glaring at him, and he was trying to reconcile the formula to make it work.

He would succeed. He would create this reactor, win the state championship, and get Pepper to agree to a date.

Tony was great at multi-tasking. This year was going to be his ultimate test. And he was determined to meet it head on.

* * *

The first day of school was always Bruce's favorite day of the year. Better than Christmas, Halloween, Easter, hell even his birthday. Yeah, he was a nerd alright.

In his backpack were fresh notebooks, pens and a few erasers, all ready to be filled with ideas, formulas, calculations... and his mind was full of the things to write. He just needed to sort them out. Upon arriving in the school, an arm wrapped hard around his shoulders.

"Brucey my man!" Tony yelled out. He always knew how to make an entrance. Tony was probably the least likely person to be friends with Bruce. He was popular, rich, and a real hit with the girls. In fact, if it wasn't for the friendly competition they had as they wrecked the curve in the science classes, they would probably be worse enemies.

"I need your help. An idea... Something in my head I can't make sense of." Bless his ADD, Bruce thought fondly.

"What's got you stumped, Sherlock?"

"Do you think Pepper would date me if I got her a cake for her birthday?" he asked eagerly, his eyes on the strawberry blond head walking down the hall. Bruce groaned.

"I'm sure I wouldn't know. Ask Thor. He actually managed to get a girl this summer."

"I knew you would have the answer!" Tony screetched before running off, after the girl of his dreams. A slight smirk appeared on Bruce's face, wondering if Tony had heard even one word of what he had said.

After leaving his coat in his locker and walking to homeroom, he wondered if Pepper would agree to date Tony just to get him to stop pestering her. His eyes were on the not so fresh page of his notebook where he had already drawn a cellular diagram and a formula for a new, more nutritional way to feed his fish, when he looked up to see her.

The world stopped moving.

The world can't stop moving, his brain argued but suddenly he did not care. The girl at the front looking for a place to sit was by far the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her dark hair and eyes were made even more so by her porcelain skin, and dark glasses framed her face. She was holding several books clutched to her chest, and then, making a decision, sat down in the desk right in front of him.

Words had finally left him and his mind refused to think of anything more logical than the smell of rain that seemed to eminate from her. So much so that when his homeroom teacher called his name, he answered with a muttered "Rain", earning himself a full on, mark-you-for-the-rest-of-your-life embarasment moment as well as a curious look from her. He could feel his face blushing beet red under her gaze, and even as the rest of the class giggled and the teacher gave him a glare and a warning to pay attention, his world was centered on the warm brown eyes that were focused on his.

The bell sounded an hour later and she was gone before the world righted itself again. He felt very cold all of a sudden and was acutely aware he had not even heard one word of the math class that had just happened. He quickly jotted down the assignement on the board, sure he could get through it without too much trouble as it was the first assignement of the year.

He raced out into the hall to get to his next class. Tony was in it. He would understand wouldn't he?

* * *

Thor looked over the heads of everyone in the hallway. Now a senior and taller than everyone else, including the teachers had its advantages, he thought happily as the head of brown hair bobbed its way to him and he opened his arms for her.

Jane threw herself into them with a giggle and he gave her a quick peck on the cheek. She had said some thing about keeping the PDA down, which he had not completely understood, but was making an effort to do anyway.

"Hey! Wanna have lunch?"

"Certainly." He said with a smile, and she took his hand to lead him out into the sunshine. It was September and still nice out as they found a spot under a tree and he laid out his plaid shirt to sit on.

At then end of last year, worried about his abysmal science grade and his lack of interest in the matter, Thor's parents had signed him up for a summer astronomy class, in the hopes of getting him interested in something to bring his grade up. He was aware of two things before his departure. If he got through this thing with more than a fifty percent grade, he could stay on the football team. And he was away from his parent's nagging for the entire summer.

The first day he had been there had confirmed all his worst fears. The camp was filled with science geeks from all over the country, only interested in things that happened a zillion miles away. He had been partnered with Jane that first day and she had taken control of their projects with a smile on her face, as if she was glad to do the work on her own. Finally, one night obersvation two weeks into their eight week program, hiked out to the opposite end of camp, she had yelled at him for a solid half hour, asking him why the hell his lazy ass had come out to New Mexico if he wasn't interested in stars in the first place.

Thor had sat through it with guilt gnawing at him for the first time in his life. Finally out of breath and out of words, Jane had sat down and picked up her notebook crammed with more information he did not completely understand, he had apologized. Possibly for the first time in his life.

He told her about his parents, and his science grade that he was only really here because he was forced to. She had glared at him, and asked him to look up Jupiter through their telescope. After fiddling with the thing for nearly five minutes, she had taken pity on him, and shown him how to make the calculation and find the planet in question.

From then on, Jane had taken a more pleasent approach to him. She had made an effort to explain the things he did not understand and he made an effort to learn. He had not realised he cared for her. It had snuck up on him unexpectedly. He had tried to be noble and bury his feelings for her, but by the end of the summer, no one, not even him, the most stubborn person this side of Jupiter could deny he was in love with her.

Thankfully, she had fallen for his thick head too.

As they ate their lunch (he had managed to sneak half a dozen Poptarts into his lunch without his mother noticing), she was telling him about applying to college and an amazing astronomy oppertunity back in New Mexico. He loved to listen to her talk. She had so much energy and passion.

"I just really want to understand what the hell is out there... Where do you want to go to college?" she asked. He thought carefully about his answer.

"I'm not sure yet either. I know there will be recruiters from a few colleges looking at me, but I haven't thought about it past that."

"You can't depend on football Thor. Its just a game. If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?"

"Wherever you are." He said with a grin.

"That is so cheesy." She answered with a giggle, snuggling into his arms. It was true though. If Jane was near, he knew everything would be fine.

* * *

Natasha glared at the three sophomore boys in front of her staring at her, a small smirk appearing on her lips as they scarpered with small shrieks.

"You know, you will never get a date to homecoming if you act like you will bite any boy that gets near you." said a voice behind her. Pepper gave her a smile, and Natasha reciprocated. They were not best friends, but Natasha had a lot of respect for Pepper. She was the only other redhead in the school, not mention the only other girl who didn't let every guy walk all over them. They were strong women in a school full of little girls.

"I don't need a date to homecoming, if I'm not going." Natasha answered as Pepper linked arms with her and dragged her off.

"You can always ask Steve of Clint. As friends. Please, I've been working on this thing so hard. It would be a shame if I can't get my only friend to come."

"I'm not your only friend. The Student Body President has a lot of friends"

"Alright you are the only friend who doesn't try anything behind my back." Pepper said.

Natasha smirked. Pepper was her only female friend. Maybe she could make sense of the feelings that had been bubbling in her stomach everytime she had been around Clint lately. Ever since she had opened up to him about her life, or lack thereof, she had been forced to push down some warm sensation in the pit of her stomach. And last Friday, upon seeing him almost naked, the warm feeling had become nothing short of a burning sensation in her lower abdomen. Sure she had played it off like it was nothing. She was very skilled at hiding her feelings. The fact remained that Clint knew more about her than anyone in the whole state. And that fact alone made her nervous.

Maybe it was just him. He was one of the hottest guys in school, with the spiked out hair, and the sharp blue grey eyes that missed nothing. He was buff too, compared to some of the skinny nerds that ran around this place, and his lips were just pouty enough to be interesting. She knew she wasn't the only one who noticed, but she would swallow poison before admitting that she had. He was her friend.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Pepper asked as they walked to fifth period English.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Her friend suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders, and looked her straight in the eyes. It took all her self control not to throw Pepper to the floor in self defense.

"You are in love!" she said suddenly. Natasha blanched, and threw a hand over Pepper's mouth.

"No! I am not. Repeat after me. Natasha Romanoff is not in love." She removed her hand and waited. Pepper sighed.

"Natasha Romanoff is not in love. But there is a guy?"

"No there is no guy. Just... shut up Pepper ok?" she hated that Pepper had seen through her that easily. The only person who saw through her was Clint. And that was only when she let him.

"Fine. I want details when you are ready to share them." Her friend said with a wave of her hand. "You will never believe what Stark did this summer though."

"I saw some of it on the news. He is still an ass."

"I'm not so sure anymore..." Now it was Natasha's turn to look stunned.

"What did you just say? Did I hear that? Pepper Potts thinks Tony Stark is not an ass anymore?"

The blush creeped up into Pepper's cheeks confirmed it.

"Oh my god, we need an intervention. Do not go out with him. He is an ass. He is a rich playboy self centered arrogant toad, and you are better than him. Right?"

"I guess. I dunno. I believe his whole change of heart thing."

Natasha stared at Pepper.

"I will not be there to clean up this mess. I'm serious. You go down that road, you are on your own."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid Natasha."

"Coulda fooled me."

"I just... I dunno."

"Until you know, don't do anything." Pepper glared at her as they took their seats and pulled out their copies of Hamlet.

"I hate it when you're right."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Tell me your thougths, because my mind reading skills only work when you are close to me.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for still reading! Things are heating up!

* * *

The first game of the season was fast approaching and it was making Steve both very excited and very nervous. He knew his team could win, as long as they kept their focus. They needed to stay focused. Thankfully, they seemed to know it too.

Clint had set aside his bow to train hard and longer with the team. Bruce had gone over the opposing teams game footage more times than could be mentioned, and the shadows under his determined gaze was proof of that. Sif and the rest of the team had shown a renewed strength and ferocity since the first day of summer training. And even Thor had been spotted with a stern look of concentration instead of his usual grin and joke. The strangest one though was their own personal, rich spoiled brat.

Tony had made less jokes than usual. He was training harder than Steve had ever seen him. He was less of a brat, less of an ass than Steve had ever thought possible. And it was downright weird when Steve found him already on the pitch, a long line of footballs set up and him kicking them each through the uprights, before their practice Thursday.

"Tony?" He did not get an answer. "You alright?"

"Fine. Absolutely fine." Tony grunted as he kicked the third ball with quite a bit more force than Steve had ever seen. It soared before crashing violently against the left upright. Tony swore under his breath.

"Tony... If you want to talk, I'm all ears."

"I do not want to talk, Cap. I'm fine." Tony growled through gritted teeth.

Steve had never seen him like this. He turned to grab a bag of balls, and knelt in the line, setting up the first ball.

Tony paused, glaring at him.

"Are you going to stand there or are you going to kick the ball?" Steve said, his finger holding the ball steady, laces out. Tony nodded and took a running start at the ball. Until the rest of the team arrived, they practiced the motions becoming as familiar as thoughts.

The practice was better than Steve had hoped. The offensive was pulling off plays even Bruce doubted they could, the defense was on top of their game and completely ready for Friday.

But at the end of the practice, Steve could not see Tony anywhere. He wondered if the billionaire had ducked out faster than usual, before he wandered back to the field, running over the plays in his head, and spotted his kicker still in his pads, still kicking into a net.

"Tony..."

"Don't start again, Steve." The captain was acutely aware that it was the first time his kicker had called him by his actual name, not some ridiculous nickname.

"You're going to ruin your eyes in the dark." Steve said softly, as Tony kicked another ball.

"I'm fine."

"Tony, in the three years I have known you, you have never come to practice early. You have never stayed late. And you have never gone through an entire practice without making a dirty joke."

Tony finally let himself collapse on the turf running his hands over his face wipping his sweaty brow. He suddenly looked a lot older than seventeen. Steve sat down cautiously beside him and waited patiently.

"I changed this summer. I've started taking responsibility. And I can't figure it out. This idea in my mind, its like a virus, its taking my brain apart. I keep seeing... things, that I shouldn't have seen." Steve had seen the rumors about Stark industries, but he assumed it had been one of Stane's ideas, not one of Tony's. He watched as his teammate broke down, with a newfound respect. Tony looked up at him. "I want things to go back to the way they were. But at the same time, I don't. I can't close my eyes again. And... and I keep wondering about her in the whole messed up part."

Steve looked at him curiously, waiting for him to continue.

"Pepper. She was the only one that stood by me, with all the changes. I've been working on this new reactor, I think the math is there, I need to get Bruce to look at it, there is something in the chemicals elements being used I'm not sure about but..." He shook his head, and Steve smirked a bit as the old Tony came throught this new serious Tony, speaking way too fast about stuff Steve could not understand. He rubbed his face again and glanced at Steve.

"I'll be alright for the game. If that is what you're worried about."

"Tony, its just a game. You're more important than a game. And don't worry so much. You're just growing up. It sucks sometimes." He got up off the grass, and held a hand out to his teammate. "If ever you need to talk again, just ask." Tony grinned as he took Steve's hand.

"Thanks Cap."

Maybe for the first time, Steve thought of Tony as a friend as well as a teammate.

* * *

Clint was trying and failing to work his way through some English questions when Natasha landed soundlessly on his window sill. He had to hand it to her, she knew how to move silently. Must be all those martial art classes she'd taken.

"Hey." He said softly, so as to not wake his foster parents.

"Hey. What are you working on?"

"English. I hate Shakespeare." He said, a scowl on his face.

"You going to fail again this year?" she said with a smirk.

"I didn't fail."

"You came pretty damn close." She said, still smirking as she sat down on his bed. He glared at her. "Want some help?"

"Yes please." He said, "What the hell was Laertes saying here?"

"He's warning his sister about guys. You know the really stupid speech all big brothers give, the one telling them all boys are scum, and they have to be careful not to give their virginity to anyone? Then, her dad Polonius comes in and he just piles on. Hamlet is dangerous in his opinion, especially after going off on his mental streak."

"Ok, but why the hell did he go off? I mean, he sees a ghost that might be his dad and..."

"Some people argue that its his concious talking, that he has the vision because of Christian guilt. He battles with himself, about whether or not he should kill his uncle."

Clint sighed and set the book down.

"You know, I was almost excited about this one. I heard everyone dies."

"Almost everyone does die. At the end."

"Well, I can't wait for this whiney little bitch to go." Natasha laughed at him.

"Only you would call Hamlet a whiny little bitch." She said, lying back on his pillows. She's so beautiful, he thought as he watched her stretch on his matress. Well that is no secret, dumbass. He had no doubt in his mind that she would kick his ass into next year if he told her that.

"Why are you looking at me like that." She said as she caught him watching.

"Just imagining putting an arrow in Hamlet's ass to shut him up." He covered quickly, as he threw himself on the bed next to her. He didn't put an arm around her, even if he wanted to. He had learnt very early in their friendship that Natasha was well capable of taking care of herself, and did not appreciate anyone taking care of her. Ever.

"You sleeping over again tonight?" he asked instead.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't" She said grimmly. He secretly loved that he could be there for her in such a small way. And it was comforting to know that she had his back too. She knew more about him than anyone.

"Hey, Clint?"

"Yeah?"

"You ever think about the future?"

He paused. Her voice was serious, and he knew she wanted a serious answer. But the future was something Clint actively tried to avoid thinking about.

"Not really. I know I'll keep shooting. Might train for the olympics or something." he said hesitantly. "Why? Are you thinking about it?"

"Its our last year. After this, we're on our own. I turn eighteen in May." He knew that. He had surprised her last year with small cake, that he had made himself. True, it had tasted horrible, but he knew she had appreciated the sentiment. "I don't know. I'll figure something out." she added, before curling up on her side, her back to him.

"Yeah. Something." he said softly. He listened for a long time to her breathing as it evened out and grew deeper, signalling her sleep. He wondered if she thought about him. What she thought of him. A small smile appeared on his lips, as a fantasy filled his mind.

They had won. He was sweaty, and completely gross, but so, so happy. Everyone was cheering. Steve was still holding the trophy high. He had scored the game winning touchdown, with a fantastic 50-yard run. And she was there, running right at him, her smile full and bright. She jumped into his arms, hugging him, laughing and congratulating him all in one breath. And then he kissed her.

She was surprised for a minute. But then she was kissing him back. He felt the world center on them. Everything else around just fade. Because kissing her would be that amazing. Of that he was sure.

* * *

Friday was his first at bat, Tony thought as he parked his Mustang in the school parking lot. He was asking Pepper to the homecoming dance. And not like the fourteen million other times he had, she would say yes.

He made his way into homeroom, strolling like he always did. He smiled at everyone, his devilish, I-rule-this-school smile. He got to class, set his books on his desk, waving a hello to Thor and Clint, before turning to the first row, where Pepper sat. She was dressed smartly, her hair in a half up half down do, and her glasses on her nose as she read Hamlet.

"Hello Pepper." He said as he slid into the seat next to her.

"Mr. Stark." She said without taking her eyes off her book.

Shaking off the wince, he kept going with his speech. "I wonder if you have a date to the Homecoming next week?"

"I'm busy. You know, organising the dance."

"I've heard you're doing some wonderful stuff."

"What do you want, Stark? You never talk to me unless its for a reason."

"I wonder if you might consider being my date?" She looked up at him, over her glasses. She looked so... naughty, it was all he could do not to jump her right there. Well, her glare helped.

"Are there really no other girls in the school?"

"No girls like you." he said with a nervous gulp.

"I'll think about it." She said dismissively and he knew the conversation was over. But he was also aware that she had NOT said no.

"Thank you." he said with a smile, and he hopped back to his seat.

The entire time of first period, Tony could not stop grinning like an idiot. If she said yes, if Pepper Potts could be his girlfriend, he was convinced the world would be a little less dark.

The first step of his mission completely, he now focused on step two; ignore other girls and win Homecoming game. He spent the rest of the day focussing on the first part, so that when he walked into the dressing room, pumped to hell and back, he was sure Pepper knew he was serious and the game was in the bag.

* * *

Bruce was watching the game intently. His eyes flew across the field, watching every block and every tackle at the same time.

They were up thirty five to nothing, late in the third quarter. So far, one touchdown to each Falstaff and Hokun, one interception for touchdown by Thor that had had even quiet Bruce cheering, and two run ins by Clint. Tony had scored extra points on every single one of them.

Even this far ahead, he was still careful, calling fresh plays, still kept the boys running, still keeping them focused on the win. The game wasn't over until the clock was out. Fury's eye on him was all the support he needed.

Bruce was cheering with everyone else when the horn finally sounded. He yelled and hugged, but as the players and friends finally started leaving the field in pairs, he left on his own, walking towards his parents house.

It was not the perfect family situation, but it was better than nothing, he thought. His father had been an abusive, drunk and unemployed bastard for the most part of Bruce's childhood, taking it out on Bruce and his mother most of the time. Finally, she had had enough. She taken her courage, in two hands, taken Bruce out (he had been eight at the time), moved into a friends house and filed abuse charges against her own husband.

Bruce's life quickly became one of legal battles, and testemonies, leaving him not exactly sure what he was. He now lived with his mother, who had withdrawn after the hard battles that had cost her nearly everything. She worked three jobs to pay off the huge legal bills she had gathered, but she always assured Bruce it had been worth it.

Ever since his childhood, he had plunged himself into a world of genetics. He understood things at a cellular level, and that was comforting, it stayed the same. But it had come with a price. It came with the knowledge that he shared the same violence in his genes as his father. The same weakness. One little strand of DNA, that was a genetic predisposition to violence, alcohol abuse and dangerous behavior.

As his classmates had started dating (Tony first and foremost) he had resolutely avoided the opposite sex. He had stayed well away from girls, and anyone smaller than him. That second part was easy enough, since he was on the smaller side. Maybe that was why he had gravitated towards the football team. They had used his brains, yes, and he enjoyed the game as much as anyone. But he was also sure that he could avoid hurting anyone.

"Wait up, nerd buddy!" he heard, from behind him. He could always recognise Tony.

His science bro pulled up next to him in that red Mustang he loved. He flashed a smile.

"Come on, there's a party out at my place. Don't bother with your books tonight, Brucey we won!"

"Thanks, but no thanks Tony. Shouldn't you have a cheerleader with you if you're going to a party? Or two?"

"Nah. Not anymore. I have a bigger plan than some skanky cheerleader. Pepper Potts." Bruce groaned.

"Not again Tony. She has turned you down more times than I can count."

"She is thinking about it."

"You're kidding?"

"Not."

Bruce decided it was ok to look mildly impressed. Even if he would be checking with Pepper to make sure she wasn't being blackmailed on Monday. He liked Tony well enough, but Pepper actually seemed like a nice girl.

"Come on, Brucey, first win of the season. You have plenty of time to worry about some weird biology crap later."

"Fine." he said reluctantly climbing into the passenger seat, as Tony drove off to his manor.

The party was already in full swing when they got there, cheerleaders and football players alike having a blast through the entire house. Bruce spotted Sif, Volstagg, and Falstaff dancing wildly in the living room. Sif had actually put on a form fitting t-shirt that revealed her toned figure, rather than her usual bulky sweater. She looked great, and he was sure he wasn't the only one who noticed.

Thor, who was usually the center of the party, was in fact no where to be found. Bruce was sure that he was off with Jane. He had been in a few classes with her before, and she was the only one who had beaten Tony for the top grade in physics the previous year, a fact that made his best friend moan for days on end. But Bruce had seen the way Thor looked at her. He was wrapped around her little finger.

Out in the back, he spotted Clint and Natasha well removed from the party, but still watching it, having a private conversation. He wondered if they were in fact dating. They were close that much was for sure. The only time he had seen Natasha smile was when she was with Clint, and that was something.

Bruce caught sight of Steve, sitting politely in the living room, no less than three cheerleaders swarming. He sat awkwardly within them, blushing and almost curled in on himself. Bruce thought the quarterback might have been gay, until the last caught sight of the one girl's bosom, blushed furiously, back away a little deeper into the couch. Bruce decided he needed to rescue the poor guy.

"Hey Steve! Come out here!" he yelled out. Steve looked up, and hurried over, leaving the three girls looking sad.

"Thank you." he said.

"Anytime." Bruce took a sip of his soda. "You're not into cheerleaders?"

"Not those ones, anyway. They just want to... do... the quarterback." He said, his cheeks turning red again. Bruce gave him a reassuring smile.

"Probably right. They are not much more than that right now." Steve nodded.

They watched as the party continued on around them, sitting in a corner. Bruce liked Steve. He was honest, kind and he was a hard leader on the field, even if he was much more reserved off the field. He was perfectly fine just sitting quietly in a corner with a sketchbook, rather than the center of attention like most of the other teens their age. Even as they sat at the party, he pulled out a small book and a pencil and began drawing something across the room.

Bruce took another sip of his soda, and as he did, nearly choked. Across the room, he saw her. The girl from homeroom. He had learnt that her name was Betty. And that she was a miliary kid, that was her tenth school, that she had moved quite recently. She looked around shyly as she talked with Pepper, and Bruce felt his world shrink down to the space between them.

In another world, another Bruce would have gone up to her. Another Bruce would have asked her to dance, asked her out, maybe even just kissed her on the spot a la Tony. But this Bruce, this Bruce sat watching her from across the room as she laughed at something Pepper said, giggle as Falstaff (whom he had not ever liked.) flirt shamelessly with her.

"Bruce, you alright?" Steve asked. He sounded quite far away even if he was sitting right next to him.

"Yeah. Fine."

"You're spilling"

His gaze dropped very suddenly, and he was aware of the slight dribble of his cup to his jeans.

"Shit." he said softly, wiping at his pants furiously. He had just made himself look like an idiot.

"You looking at Betty." Steve said curiously.

"No."

"Ok. Come on. I'll give you a ride home." Steve said. He was so goddamn nice sometimes, Bruce thought.

"Its fine. I'll walk, I could use the excercise. Great game."

"Yeah. See you Sunday for practice?" Bruce didn't answer in his hurry to leave the mansion.

Tony's house was a good three miles from his, but Bruce began jogging his way back home, forcing himself to think that he did not like Betty. She was not the right person for him. She did not even like him. And she would definitely never go out with him.

* * *

There was a lot of reasons why Thor loved football. He loved to hit people, to battle his way to the quarterback, to fight for his team. He loved the way it made his blood boil, the way the adrenaline shot through him when the ball was snapped. He loved throwing someone to the ground, even if it meant going down with them.

It was pretty clear why he loved football. But why he loved Jane Foster... Well, that was the completely opposite story.

She was smart and pretty, small and soft. Something he longed to protect till then end of time. He wanted to keep her safe. She was a lot kinder than someone should have been towards him back at astronomy camp. And she was by far the prettiest girl he knew.

The party was still raging at Tony's place, but he had taken Jane out to the expansive back yard for a walk, his coat wrapped around her shoulders. He had seen her cheering in the stands during the game, and even if she didn't understand it, he was glad she had come.

"You played real good tonight."

"I think so. It was a noble victory." She giggle a little. Back in Sweden, he had gone to a fancy finishing school that his father thought might bring some manners into him. He tried to talk more colloquially now that he had moved to the states, but most of the time, it still came out quite different.

"Thank you for coming out."

"Pepper explained a lot of the game to me. It makes a lot more sense now. Not just some meatheads pounding at each other."

"There is a lot of planning and training that goes into every play. Its a bit like a large chess game, if only a little more violent." he said, wrapping an arm around her.

"See that star right over there?" she said, pointing up.

"That is Mars, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Its really bright tonight."

"You are even brighter." he said softly, leaning in to kiss her. He didn't care if she thought he was cheesy. She responded so readily, it was soon the furthest thought from his mind. He lifted her off her feet, kissing her like she was the only girl in the world. And to him, she was.

"I want you to come over for dinner next week." he said softly, breaking the kiss. "Meet my parents."

"What?" He read the fear in her voice and the nervousness in her eyes. It made him pause, a little confused.

"Come meet my parents. Its nothing serious..."

"Its very serious." She said harshly. "Put me down, Thor." He did a little shellshocked. He thought she would be excited by this. It was just a dinner with his parents. They were the ones that had requested it after he had spent most of his time at home talking about the famous Jane.

"Its just dinner" he said, trying a little desperately to calm her down.

"Its a big thing! Meeting the parents..."

"My parents already love you. If only because you got me to actually pay attention in science class."

She looked at him with THAT look. The one that told him he was being an idiot. Only this time he was not sure what he had done to deserve that look.

"I'm sorry?" he said. She sighed hard, rubbing her forehead.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm just... nervous. I glad this relationship is serious, just... I guess I didn't think you thought that too."

"Jane." Understanding was washing over him. He took her chin in his fingers forcing her to look up at him. "I love you. I mean it. You are the single greatest thing that happened in my life. Even if I hated it at first." She chuckled a little bit at that. He was aware that it was the first time he had said the word love, but he was also certain that it was true. He knew it down in his heart.

"I love you too, Thor." she said softly, taking his large hand in her smaller one. "And I will meet your parents."

He swooped in to kiss her, feeling her smile against his lips.

He really was the luckiest guy in the universe. He played for a great team, had a loving set of parents, was popular in school and had a girl who loved him in his arms.

* * *

Natasha was strolling through the halls Monday morning. The new Avengers had won the game Friday, and the party had lasted into the early hours of the morning. She had gone to the game, cheered along with the rest of the crowd, and even felt a twinge of something that might have been pride after Clint had scored the second touchdown by jumping over two other guys. He had taken her to the party at Tony's and they had stayed late, half hidden in a corner, chatting. She knew she had been getting evil looks from a few of the cheer quackers for hogging Clint's time, but she didn't let it bother her. Superficial bitches. Ever since Clint had filled out and joined the team, he had dated a couple of girls, though none for more than a few weeks. He hadn't bothered opening up to any of them, not like he did with her. She knew they were different. They were friends first. But there was something just a little possessive in her when it came to Clint.

She had been tossing around the idea of asking him to Homecoming, but at the same time, she wanted things to remain as they were. If they dated, and things fell apart, she would have lost her only true friend, and she would really be on her own. She hated that she depended so much on someone, but she depended on Clint. He was always there for her.

So it was with these thoughts in mind that she had come up with her new plan. If things were going to remain as they were with Clint, she needed to get rid of the hot feelings that were there whenever she was around him. She was going to keep him as her friend, and have a boyfriend as well. Some form of sexual release. To keep her friendship, her one sane piece in this hellhole alive.

She had thought about the different available men around for nearly the whole weekend, before settling on her choice. She would have gone for Thor, if only because he was one of the few guys who wasn't intimidated by her, but he was in a committed relationship. She had considered the idea of Tony, but that had grossed her out. Steve might have been a decent candidate, but no one would take their relationship seriously, and she was sure he wouldn't help with the release she wanted. Her mind made up she strolled up to a particular locker.

"Hi Bruce!" She said as jovially as she could.

"Hi, Natasha." He answered nervously. She gave him a smile and held her hands up to show she meant no harm.

"I promise I won't bite. I just wanted to ask you a question."

"Ok... if you want help with the bio homework, I'm already helping someone else out after school, you are free to come along, but..."

"Its not about bio. I'm fine in that class. Its about Homecoming." she watched him pale under his spectacles.

"Uh..."

"I wondered if you wanted to go with me." She said, trying to look as honest as possible. He gave a choked cough.

"As... As friends?"

"No, I was actually wondering if you wanted to, you know, date."

He looked sincerely shocked for a moment, then several different emotions crossed his face.

"Why are you asking me?" He asked suddenly and she could hear the defensive edge in his voice.

"Because you are one of the nicer guys in this school of meatheads. And you're cute." Her answer was a rehearsed one, but it seemed to satisfy him.

"Sure. Sure, why not."

"Great. See you Friday?"

"I'll, uh, pick you up at seven." She gave him a smile. So far so good.

She hadn't spotted the guy staring at her across the hall, hidden in a group of yakking sophomores, his mouth half open and his blue grey eyes glaring at the wannabe scientist.

* * *

Hehehe, what's Clint going to do? Also, I've been debating for some time if Peggy should be in here... or if I should put in an OC... thoughts?


	3. Chapter 3

Steve was a natural worrier. It was one of the things that had earned him his captaincy, he tried to always be there for his teammates, no matter what the situation. When one or another needed a place to crash for the night, he gladly offered his place. When Sif had fought to get on the team, he was one of her main supporters, same as with Bruce. He could be an ear, a shoulder, whatever was needed for his teammates.

But when Steve learnt about Tony's fears as he had last Thursday, he did not know exactly how to be there for his friend. He had thought it over that evening and not come up with any ideas.

It seemed though, that the scientist was dealing fine. He seemed completely normal at school on Friday, and he played a most outstanding game. His party was as it always was, with the small wrinkle of him not having a few girls on his arm the whole time. No, Tony was making it very clear that he was single and not interested in anything other than a certain Pepper Potts. Steve had to admit he was impressed.

It was now Monday evening, and Steve was in his room doing some trigonometry homework. The appartment was a tiny one, but it was the one he and his mother lived in. She had taken up a job as a nurse when Steve's father had died years back, and money was always tight with them. Still, Steve liked the place. It was hung with pictures of Steve as a child, with his father, then his mother, and all his school pictures too. Ever since several of the other nurses on the hospital staff had had young children, she had been taking more and more night shifts, so that the other nurses could spend time with their young ones, claiming she knew exactly how important that was. Even now, at seventeen, Steve was eternally glad he had his mother. When the oppertunity to play football had come up, she had scrapped together the money for the equipment fee, protesting when he offered to get a job. She supported him and was proud of him.

He was just considering if he should ask Bruce for help, when there was a knock at the door. Glancing at the clock, he was aware that his mom wasn't due back for another few hours, and he had no one coming. As soon as he peeked through the peep hole though, he opened the door quickly.

"Hey Clint. What's up?» His teammate stared at him, clearly unsure of what to say, so Steve took the reins. "Come in, sit down. Can I get you something to drink?"

"Any chance you have some liquor here?" Clint grunted as he sat at the kitchen table.

"You're underage, Clint."

"Right now... I don't really care."

"What's going on? Talk to me man, I can't help you if you don't."

Clint sighed and burried his face in his hands. Steve was aware that Clint hid a lot of his past, but he had also made it a point not to pry at it. He wondered if that was what was bugging him.

"Natasha's dating Bruce." He said suddenly. Steve waited. This was not exactly news. The whole school had been alight with the gossip, that a little science geek, the football team's waterboy was taking the sexiest girl in school to the Homecoming dance. A lot of people were speculating that it was to get at someone else on the team, or that Tony had paid her to take out his friend. Steve suspected nothing of the sort, even after he had noticed Bruce eying Betty at the party after the game last week.

Clint said nothing else, burying his face in his hands again.

"Ok. So?" Steve asked as politely as he could, trying to get Clint to talk more. "You guys are friends right?"

"Yeah. We're friends. But... goddammit, I didn't think she liked him!" Steve nodded. "She never let on... And him! I didn't think he was into the whole girl that could kick his ass thing. He's Bruce! I have no idea what to think of it..."

"Why do you have to think something of it?" Steve asked, trying to get at the point he knew was coming.

"Because... Because... We're friends, right? I don't want to mess that up."

"Clint. If you care about her you should let her know."

"No." He said resolutely. "No, I can't."

"Why not?"

"I can't mess up our friendship. I need her, and I like to think she needs me too. We depend on each other, and I can't lose that. Plus, if she thought I liked her that way, she'd run."

"How do you know?"

"She's Natasha. She doesn't let anyone take care of her." Steve nodded. Clint rubbed his forehead.

"Can I stay here tonight? I can't see her right now, not until I figure this out."

"Ok, why? Does she live with you or something?"

"Unofficially." Clint said, with a tone of finality that put an end to Steve's questions. Instead, he got up and pulled out the sofa bed, before grabbing some sheets.

"This stays between us, right?" Clint said nervously as Steve made the bed.

"Yes, Clint. Just us."

* * *

Clint knew he had been a chicken. But he had watched it with his own eyes. He watched as she had called down the hall, heard every word as she had asked him out. He could not believe it. He had been unable to face her. Instead of sleeping in his own bed that night, he had run off to Steve's leaving a note on his covers, that she was welcome to stay, but he needed to take care of some stuff. Because despite the harsh betrayal, the stab in the heart that was watching her ask out someone else, he still cared about her. He cared about her enough to not deprive her of a place to sleep.

So he had slept over at Steve's on Monday (spilling his guts out in the process), and Tuesday through Thursday with Tony. The billionaire had been more than nice, sneaking a bottle of Jack Daniels the first time, and splitting it with him as he moaned about Pepper and his company. The alcohol helped a little to numb the bubbling anger Clint was feeling in his chest. Tony had not asked a word about why Clint had shown up at his door, just taken him in without a word. That was the beauty of being an emancipated billionaire, Clint thought.

Everyday at school, he had avoided both Bruce and Natasha like the plague. His knowledge of the school's ventilation system came in handy more than once, but he successfully made it through a whole week without seeing his best friend. He knew he was going to have to deal with these feelings eventually, but right now, he needed to figure out his own goddamn feelings.

So on Thursday night, half drunk and lying on Tony's sofa, when Tony asked if Clint was going to the dance, there was only really one answer.

"I don't want to, but I will." Because he was going to stalk her and find out exactly what the hell that relationship was coming from and why she had picked Bruce of all people.

And that is how, against his better judgement, Clint ended up standing in line with a ticket to get into the decorated gymnasium of Shield High.

As soon as he got in, he searched for a vantage point, somewhere he could have eyes on everything. The highest point was the folded up basketball nets, and althought he was sure his views from there would be perfect and he would have no trouble getting up, he decided it would be a little conspicous. With that in mind, he took a seat on the highest row of the bleachers, right in the middle, so he could watch the whole dance as it unfolded.

The gym filled up quickly enough, and Clint spotted Thor and Jane dancing as sweet as pie on the dancefloor. His eyes found what he was looking for not ten minutes after arriving. Natasha, looking nothing short of stunning in a deep blue dress that fell to just above her knees, accompanied by a slightly ruffled Bruce, who had actually taken the time to put on a jacket and tie. She was taller than him in her heels, which he could see were at least three and a half inches, and silver in color. He watched as they made their way to get drinks, and sat for a while talking, before Natasha offered her hand for a dance. Bruce took it, and despite blushing a little bit, led the way onto the filling up dance floor. Clint saw the nervousness in his teammate, but also the confidence in his friend when she took his hands and placed them on her waist, keeping the other as they started to move slowly. The fury bubbling in him was just barely holding back. He knew he had no claim on Natasha. He knew she had a perfect right to date whomever she wished. And he knew that Bruce was not a bad guy. On the contrary, he might even be good for Natasha. That still did not calm the anger down one bit.

As the song ended, he watched as Natasha led Bruce out of the gym, through one of the back door, and his anger got the better of him. He followed.

They were standing under a light, giving them a strange angelic apperance. She was talking to him softly, her arms around his neck, his hands were at her waist. She was leaning lightly against the brick wall of the gym and as Clint watched, she pulled Bruce's lips up to hers.

It took him about three seconds to get over to them. Maybe two more to wrench Bruce off Natasha. And only one to sock him in the jaw.

* * *

Tony could not believe his luck. Everything was going great. His night could not have been planned better. Football was on track, and the reactor prototype was being built. Sure, he had spent most of this week drunk with Clint who for some reason or other, had shown up at his door almost every night this week. But he wasn't about to let that tiny detail ruin his night. He was out with Pepper flipping Potts.

He could not stop grinning. She looked absolutely gorgeous, dressed in a relatively conservative green dress that still showed off her flawless shoulders. He had picked her up in the Mustang, and had been strategeically trying to avoid anything that could make him do something stupid, or assholish. He offered her a drink, and then sat and listened as she described her plans for Yale next year. Their flat punches emptied, he asked her to dance, and not taken no for an answer.

"What?" he asked, as he spun her with expertise.

"You can dance. Very well."

"My mom taught me when I was a kid." Not a complete lie. She had wanted him to be able to dance at his first soiree for Stark Industries, so she had signed him up for classes at age nine.

"You are full of surprises Stark."

"Like to keep people on their toes." She nodded distractedly. The moment was damn near perfect. He would not get another one like this.

"Can I get another drink?" she asked suddenly.

"Yes. Yes! Sure. One second."

The poor junior at the punch table was ladling out the juice into plastic cups, when Tony saw Clint running out the door. And it remained open just long enough for him to see Clint punch Bruce right across the face.

Tony forgot about the juice and Pepper and the dance, he just ran outside to see what the hell had gotten into Clint.

Just in time to see Natasha punch Clint to the ground.

"Guess what, Barton! You wanted to take me to the dance, then you should have asked me to the goddamn dance!" Natasha was screaming at the top of her lungs, rage glittering in her eyes as she glared at Clint on the ground. Furiously, she bent over Bruce, pulling a tissue from god knows where and carefully wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

A lot of things clicked into place for Tony. Clint had been staying at his place, because Natasha had asked out Bruce. She probably knew where he lived or something and he wanted to be somewhere she didn't know where he was. And it was because Clint cared for her. A lot apparently.

Thor had appeared at his side, as had Steve, both taking the scene in with their own shocked expressions. Natasha helped Bruce to his feet and began to drag him around the corner to the parking lot.

"Clint?" Steve asked, slowly making his way to his friend, still lying on the cement, holding his jaw.

As his teammates and friends crowded around him, Clint slowly made his way to his feet, glaring after Natasha the whole time. He turned to the wall and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"She's got a good right hook." he muttered, so only Thor, Tony and Steve could hear him.

"Come on, Clint. Dance is over." Tony said, leading the way to his Mustang. Steve followed, but Thor remained behind.

"Hospital?" Steve asked, pushing Clint into the front passenger, and jumping into the back.

"I'm fine. Just drive. I don't care where."

It wasn't until Tony got home that he remembered Pepper.

* * *

So far, so good, Bruce thought as he and Natasha twirled around the dance floor. She was a good partner, and she was nice to talk to. They didn't talk about anything deep, but hey, it was their first date!

His reasons for saying yes were complicated. A small part of him wanted to make Betty jealous. Another part of him wanted to get some traction on this whole dating idea before asking Betty out herself. He also knew that Natasha would beat the crap out of him if he ever got violent with her. That was a comforting thought to him. Very comforting. It helped that she was rather pretty, even if her looks were more extravagant than the subtle beauty Betty had.

It really kept coming back to Betty.

She led him out the back door, and he wondered what the hell she was doing. He was not a hundred percent sure her reason to date him was as simple as she had told him. But he was going for it.

"So far, so good?" She asked wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Yeah. You're pretty awesome." He said softly, instinctively, placing his hands on her waist.

"I try. I'm really enjoying myself."

"I'm having fun too." he said nervously. She was very close now. His memory suddenly darted back to his three previous fails at kissing, all the same night during an ill-planned spin the bottle game with Tony and half a dozen cheerleaders all older than them freshman year.

She pulled him to her, meeting her lips with his. He was acutely aware that she was an inch taller than him, making the whole positioning feel extremely awkward. Still, her lips were soft, her hands warm as they pulled him a little closer still.

Then she was gone. It was so quick he did not register what had broken the kiss.

Pain had come next, so fast he though he had been run over by an silent, invisible truck. And the only thought that ran through his head, was, "What the hell?"

He could hear Natasha yelling at someone, and as he managed to open his eyes, he saw it was Clint. He was lying on the ground, so he had a perfect view as Natasha threw her own knock out punch at her friend.

She was still yelling, but Bruce's ears were ringing slightly. Then she was kneeling next to him, moping him up, and helping him to his feet. His head felt woozy, but he let her take him all the way to the parking lot, where he leant against his mother's old beat up station wagon.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly, and even with his ears ringing and his head throbbing, he heard the concern in her voice.

"Give me a minute." he said, sitting down against the back tires. She sat down next to him, and he caught a quick look of her expression. It was a mask of guilt.

"Are you..."

"Shhh!" she said, as they heard the sounds of a Mustang starting and voices belonging to Steve and Clint. She waited until the roaring of the Mustang had faded away.

"Sorry. What?"

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." she said a little too quickly. He glanced at her, and saw her eyes sparkling.

"Natasha. You can talk to me."

She turned her head to him.

"I'm so sorry Bruce. I never meant for him... for you to get hurt." she said softly.

"Are you trying to date me, to make him jealous?" he asked. Amazing, his brain still worked after having been involentarily shut down.

"No! No, I just... I dunno. I didn't want to lose him. As a friend. I didn't want to let feelings get mixed up because I need our friendship."

"So dating me was..."

"Trying to distract my sex drive?" Bruce couldn't help, though he immediately regretted the laugh. His head hurt quite bad. "I'm sorry. Really, I am."

"Its ok, Natasha. I'm not hurt. Well, I am, but not emotionally... Is this making sense?"

"Yeah."

"Truth is, I kinda like someone else anyway."

"Who?"

"Just a girl. Her name is Betty. I'm sorry things couldn't work between us."

"You're breaking up with me already?"

"Yes. Don't get me wrong Natasha, you are nice and very pretty. But you can't try to date other people to make someone jealous, Natasha. Not without people getting hurt."

"The best part is now I've lost him anyway."

"Just apologize to him."

She shook her head. "No. I can't now. Not after what I said. Not after what he did."

"Don't be stubborn." He earned himself a death glare for that. "Sorry." he said quickly hoping she wouldn't murder him.

"Here, I'll drive you home. You can't, not with the knock on the head you got that is my fault anyway."

"I wish there was someway I could make it up to you." he said.

She thought for a moment as she helped him into the passenger seat. "There is. But you can never ask me why."

"Ok?"

"Can I sleep at your place tonight? And possibly other nights in the future?" He had been on the verge of asking why. But then decided Natasha was allowed to have her secrets.

"Yes." He said simply, and she started the ignition and set of towards his house.

* * *

Thor felt very lost. Yes, he had the perfect girl. And the dream football team. Only now it was not so dream.

He knew that Tony had probably taken Clint home, and he had wanted to go with them, only thinking that he couldn't abandon Jane kept him at the school. Another part of him wanted to find Bruce and make sure he was alright, even if it seemed Natasha was taking care of him.

Upon returning to the gym that was suddenly filled with gossipers, he could not find Jane anywhere. He searched for a good half hour before his pocket vibrated, and he pulled out his phone. There was only a text message from his girl, but that hardly explained anything.

-Have to take care of a friend. Sorry baby, see you tomorrow?-

He sighed and texted back a quick reply before deciding to hunt down his friends and see if he could not comfort them a little better. Getting into his Hummer, he called Tony's quickly to ask where Clint was. And then he put his car in motion.

He got to the mansion a good hour after the three others had. But he found them as if they had just gotten there, stewing in silence, Clint nursing an ice pack to his jaw, Tony and Steve looking a little dumbfound at him, each with a glass in their hands that appeared to be rum and coke. He decided to be surprised that Steve was actually drinking another time.

"Clint, what the hell?" he asked instead.

"Don't bother. They gave me the what the hell were you thinking speech already." he said sullenly.

"Very well, but what exactly were you thinking?"

Clint sighed heavily.

"I dunno. I have nothing against Bruce per say. He was just..."

"Macking on your girl." Tony supplied, handing Thor a glass of his own.

"She's not my girl. She made that crystal clear."

"You know Fury's policy on fighting, Clint, what made you think..." Steve started.

"I don't care about football right now!" He yelled, groaning as he jaw moved too much.

Steve quickly put an apologetic look on his face, but Clint kept going. "Not everyone's life revolves around the stupid team. Not everyone puts everything they have into it, like you do. Some of us have other things in our lives, _Captain_. Look, Tony's got his company, and Thor's got Jane! I've got Nat. Shit, I need Natasha" he said, his voice becoming soft. They were all quite for a long time, taking sips from their drinks, before Clint spoke again. "Sorry."

"You're right, Clint. The only thing I have is the team. Is you guys. But I'm ok with that. Means I get to take care of you more than worry about myself and that is fine by me."

"Dude, you need to get a girl." Tony said, his words slurring a little. Everyone gave a laugh.

"Just apologize Clint. Go to her, tell her you need her, tell her how much she means to you if she means that much." Thor said after another moment.

"She knows how much she means to me." he said quietly. "And I can't apologize now. She hates my guts now, because I royally screwed it all up."

"Can you at least apologize to Bruce?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. I will. Tomorrow. Shit, why couldn't she have gone for some stupid junior that I wouldn't feel guilty about punching?"

Thor smiled. Things would get better, he was determined. Tony's snores broke through the silence and slowly, each of the other boys fell asleep. Except for Thor.

As much as it annoyed him that his friends had ruined the dance for him and Jane, as much as he hated that Jane had left him to help a friend, he could not help but reflect on the epiphany that had stuck him that evening.

There he had been, at a Shield High Dance, all of which he had previously attended stag only to make out with a few different girls, or go home with one at the end of the night, being completely captivated by the girl next to him. None of the other girls in the school came close. Now that he thought about it, none of the other girls in the world ever would. Jane was the girl he wanted to spend his life with. And as sleep took him, he was imagining what she would say if he were to get down on one knee.

* * *

Natasha was angry. And there was two place that she went when she was angry. The first was Clint's place, which was clearly out of the question. The second was the clearing in the wood, where they set up cans and shot them with Clint's old BB gun.

Both of them involved someone she could not face at the moment.

She had spent the night on Bruce's pull out couch, and explained that she was a friend of Bruce's in the morning when his mother had found her. The older woman looked exhausted, but nodded with a smile and set to making breakfast, which she insisted Natasha stay to have. Score one point for Bruce.

They had made small talk over the meal, Natasha avoiding anything that could lead to why she had spent the night. Bruce had followed her lead, and instead talked about how the school was thinking about getting new microscopes for the biology lab, and he was sure his fish were moving faster with the new food he had given them. It might have been boring but it filled the time nicely and Natasha set off for her house quickly afterwards.

Her uncle was still asleep, so she had a quick shower, dressed in comfortable clothes, and pondered her next move. She needed somewhere to go, that was preferably not anywhere Clint might be, and that would provide a good distraction. Somehow, the library and homework didn't seem like good enough distractions.

Which is how she ended up on Pepper Potts' doorstep, having rung the bell and waiting for an answer.

A tear-stained Pepper opened the door, and all Natasha's anger disappeared in less than a second.

"Come to join the Homecoming pity party?" She asked. "Come on in."

"Pepper, what happened?" she asked as she made her way into the house.

"Exactly what you said would. Tony. I should have listened to you."

"Oh, Pepper, I'm sorry."

Inside Pepper clean, smart room, were two other girls Natasha recognized but had never actually spoken to. On the floor, was the remnants of what looked like a miniature Wonka factory and two air matresses.

"Natasha, this is Jane, Thor's girlfriend. And Betty. And this is Natasha." Betty took one look at her and glared. It took her a good three seconds to figure out why the new girl was glaring at her. She composed herself into an apologetic stance.

"You're the Betty Bruce is into?" She asked. Pepper threw herself into the bed.

"I told you he was into you. I caught him staring at you five times last week."

"Then why the hell would he have gone with her." Betty said still glaring at Natasha. If anything could make Natasha feel more guilty about her brilliant brainwave, it was this.

"Who knows why guys do anything" Jane said wisely, licking a nutella covered finger.

"I'm really sorry." Natasha said, still in the doorway. "I asked him, for all the wrong reasons, I didn't know he was into someone, or that anyone was into him, or I wouldn't have, but..." For the first time in a long time, Natasha felt like she was about to cry.

"Its alright." Betty finally said, probably taking pity on the redhead. "Sit down, have some chocolate. It doesn't make things better, but it does make things sweeter."

The three of them then started recounting their own evenings. Betty had arrived, ready to impress Bruce, even if he was going with Natasha. Upon seeing them leave out the door, she had run to Jane, her only friend at the new school so far, and explained the whole tragedy. Jane had taken her to the washroom, to clean up her make up a little before leaving (since her mascara had run quite badly), and they had found Pepper having her own good cry, about Tony abandonning her at the dance.

Jane had taken it in stride, driven them back to Pepper's and the three had spent the night wallowing in chocolate therapy. Jane admitted to feeling guilty about leaving Thor, but he needed to take care of his friends too.

"That guy you're in love with then, I'm guessing its Clint?" Pepper said.

"You love him?!" shrieked both Jane and Betty at the same time.

"No!" She said automatically. "No, I just... he's my friend."

"That you wished had asked you out to a dance." Betty finished.

"And that you started dating another guy just to make jealous." Jane added.

"And that you usually go see when you are pissed off, which is why when you can't see him, you come to me. And I'm surprised you actually know where I live." Pepper concluded.

"Alright! So he's my good friend, that pissed me off so much that I knocked out, and that I cared so much about I tried to dated another innocent guy to get my feelings out of the way!" She said it fast and hard, but as soon as she stopped, she could not believe she had said it. The three other girls were staring at her. She could not believe she had confided in Bruce and now she was blurting it out to these three girls, meaning it would probably be all over the school by Monday. God, losing Clint was messing her up in ways she had definitely not expected.

"That is messed up." Jane said.

"Its not that hard, now that you know you like him, and he likes you."

"I'm not apologizing. He hurt Bruce. And me." She said flatly.

"So you really knocked Clint out?" Pepper asked.

"Down more than out. He just pissed me off. So I punched him." Natasha said a little sullenly, as she broke off another square of Hershey's. She had never indulged in chocolate therapy, or indeed talking with other girls.

"Wow. Wish I had the guts to punch a guy that pissed me off." Pepper said thoughtfully

"You should try it sometime. I would love to see Tony with a black eye" Natasha replied.

They all disolved into giggles, before Pepper looked serious again.

"I really thought he had changed."

"I think he has." Natasha said. The others were staring at her. "Hear me out! Tony would never have left a dance for one of his friends last year. Not even Bruce. He cared enough about his friends to take care of them"

"I guess you're right. But that doesn't make it ok for me."

"Oh, God, no."

"I think Thor thinks this relationship is a lot more serious than it is." Jane blurted out.

They all stared at her.

"Well, Betty, since you are the only one who has not yet managed to screw things up with the guy you like, I'd say its time to get on that." Pepper said before, spraying some whipped cream straight into her mouth.

* * *

Heh, gotta love chocolat therapy. Thoughts? drop me a line!

Also, go Google Young avengers. They were hot when they were younger!


	4. Chapter 4

Steve's weekend had been entertainning to say the least. From the whole Homcoming fiasco, to Clint apologizing to a bruised Bruce and practice Sunday night being not so great on account of every being distracted, he had no real rest at all.

Monday, he decided to keep a careful watch on his friends, to see if there was any way he could help. He watched Clint in English, and noticed dark shadows under his eyes, letting him know that he had not slept. He observed Bruce in art class, and he was still bruised and quite distracted. He had come to practice, but it was rather clear to Steve that his heart was no longer in it.

Lunch was an interesting affair. Neither Clint or Bruce, or even Tony were in the cafeteria, so Steve watched Thor. He was eating lunch with Jane, clearly besotted with her. At least, his practices were still alright, if a little distracted by everything else.

Tony was hardest to spot. Usually the center of attention, he was now walking down the halls a bit like a ghost, his eyes downcast and his attention clearly a million light-years away. It was downright weird.

Steve rubbed his forehead, wearily. He had no idea how to fix this, and their next game was Saturday.

He knew deep down the only thing that could fix anything was time.

The worst part was he could not help but dwell on Clint's words. Everyone had something other than the team. True, when things went bad from outside it affected their playing. But at the same time, when everything was alright, it boosted their performance.

And him? He had nothing other than school. He wondered if Tony was right and it was time to beat back his fear of women and ask one of them out. It was a confusing thing for him, girls. Through most of middle school and even the beginning of high school, he had avoided them simply out of principle. He didn't want distractions from his team. And a girlfriend? He knew he wanted something more than a one week fling, or a date to the prom. He wanted someone he could get to know, someone smart. It wasn't his fault that his standards were high. Not really.

But the whole situation had him wondering if it wouldn't be a good thing to have something else to distract him from how badly his team was doing.

That is how on Tuesday afternoon, he spent systematically eliminating every girl in the school. He eliminated Jane, Pepper and Natasha for obvious reasons, as well as most of the cheerleading squad. Sif was another elimination, as she was just too close to the football. The drama club, the chess club, and the student council were all eliminated in turn, but that suddenly gave him another idea.

On Wednesday afternoon, instead of walking home like he usually did, he turned his feet towards the art room. The smell of turpentine, and fresh paper filled his nostrils, and the light from the fluorescents flickered a little. Most of the tables and the cement floor were covered in paint splatters, but Steve quickly decided it was his second favorite room in the school, after the football stadium. There were only about five other students there, each sitting quietly at an easel. One was painting, and two others were sketching, the last were using pastels. Screw trying to get a girlfriend, he thought. He would use art as his escape. He took a seat off to the side without saying a word, picked up a blank sheet of paper and an old pencil and started drawing.

For more than an hour, he lost himself in the lines, and the shades of his drawing. He sketched a distorted Thor/Jane hybrid, a ghost Tony, a bubbling angry Clint, and a confused Bruce. But he didn't worry about their problems. Instead, he worried about getting the lines right, getting the expressions right, getting their hair right. He stared at the finished project for a long time, before folding it up and sticking it in his old backpack.

There was only one person left in the room. Through the hour, all the others had left, and he had not even noticed. The girl in question was painting, her brush making long elegant strokes. He watched her for sometime, the way the light reflected off her dark copper hair, and her eyes focused on the canvas in front of her. She's beautiful, he thought suddenly. When she finally put her brush down and look up at him, he started and grabbed his bag, ready to make a run for it.

"Why are you watching me?" she said and he suddenly felt like a rabbit trapped in a corner. He could hear the accent in her voice, but it made it even sharper.

"No reason... Sorry." he said quickly, trying to avoid her gaze.

"I've never seen you in here before."

"I've never been in here before."

"So why on earth would the quarterback hide out in the art room for two hours on a Wednesday afternoon."

"Because... because..." Her gaze was like a laser and words failed him entirely. He threw his bag over his shoulder and ran, not stopping until he had reached the front doors.

He could not believe he had run like a chicken, and he knew that he could not go back to the art room if she was there. He'd worry about that next week, he said, setting off towards his house. They had practice every night for the rest of the week and a game on Saturday afternoon again. He would focus on that. Not the scary girl that had made him run for his life.

* * *

Clint was two things lately. One, he was exhausted. He had hardly slept since the homecoming fiasco for a number of reasons; the nightmares that had plagued him in his childhood were back with a vengence, and he could not even bother getting to sleep sometimes, his brain was so full of everything else. And two, he was still angry. Both at himself for having so royally screwed things up, and second at Natasha, his ex-best friend, who knew more about him than anyone and yet had managed to drive a knife right into his heart.

Mending the fence with Bruce had been relatively easy. The poor guy had a huge bruise across the right side of his face, but had smile slightly when Clint had stumble through his apology.

"I should never have said yes in the first place, Clint." Bruce had said, softly.

Clint would dearly loved to have thrown himself into football, but even that had a bittersweet taste after everything. He ran faster and blocked harder, but messed up much more often because his mind was not on the field. He was almost constantly thinking about her.

She had left a note on his bed saying she had made other arrangements, and had not come back since. The two times he had spotted her this week had been quick glimpses in the hall, and since they had no classes together, that was it. It was not that he wanted to see her. He wanted to check up on her, make sure she was ok. Bruce had said they had broken up, even if they were never really dating to start off with. That had reassured him a little.

Once he had seen her with Pepper, another time with Jane. At least she was making new friends through all this, he thought bitterly before he crashed to the ground with Thor on top of him.

"Come on Clint, wake the hell up!" Steve yelled as they lined up for another scrimage. Forcing himself to stay in the present, and thanking God this was just a practice, he focused on the players in front of him.

They were practicing a toss run on their strong side, that should have been the easiest thing in the world. With Volstagg and Steve blocking for him, there should have been no trouble at all getting Clint passed the line of scrimage.

The ball was snapped, and tossed, and then it was in his hands. He ran, focussing on Thor and Sif who were running straight at him. He pushed his legs a little harder, before juking out Thor and diving past Sif.

He felt himself give a sigh of relief as he got up off the ground, again. He still had it. He just needed to focus on the game at hand. Fury's whistle blew and the practice was finally over.

Natasha had been at their last game. He had seen her in the stands, not that she was hard to miss with her red hair. She had no other reason to come see a game, than to see him. She was there for him, when he needed it and even when he didn't.

Goddammit he missed her.

He made his way home in his old truck, knowing full well that she would not be there when he got to his room. He wondered if he would manage to sleep more than three hours tonight. He'd had nightmares as a kid, usually about their parents dying or getting beat up. Now they were different; he saw Natasha and she was hurt. He always knew she was hurt even if there was nothing to show for it. She'd be curled up in a tiny ball, and as soon as he would reach her, she would disappear into smoke. He'd search and search for her, before waking up in a sweat.

He knew there would be no relief tonight. He wondered if he could swallow his pride long enough to apologize, but then the image of her kissing Bruce would pop back into his mind and he would become furious at her again, resolving never to apologize. As he got into bed, he closed the window and locked it. Something he had not done since his sophomore year. She could come apologize to him first, if she needed a place to sleep again.

* * *

Guilt was a nasty thing. If you thought about it a lot, it grew to wild proportions. It spiralled out of control, and soon enough, Tony was wondering why the hell he had even wanted to make this year special. High school sucked.

He felt so bad having left Pepper at the dance, he didn't try to talk to her. Up until Wednesday, all he did was watch her from a distance. Even the fawning girls had usually followed him everywhere were not distracting him from his double failure.

Because not only had he screwed things up with Pepper. The team was also suffering. And the reactor prototype he had built was not working half as well as he had hoped.

He decided to focus on one problem at a time. Football and then Pepper. By Wednesday though, it was clear that the team just needed time. Everyone was distracted as hell and needed to focus before the game on Saturday.

So he decided to test the water with Pepper.

She was sitting at the front of homeroom, as always. Her nose was still in Hamlet, but he noticed she was quite a bit further along. He made his way up to her, aware that he was repeating the motions he had when he has asked her out. If only he could get back some of the confidence and the courage he had had then.

"Hi Pepper?"

"Yes, Stark" Ouch, last name. Not even a mister. He gulped nervously.

"I just wanted to apolo..."

"Don't bother."

"Oh... Ok. I want to anyway, it was..."

"Whatever."

"I'm sorry?" She looked up at him with a glare and he gulped.

"Thank you for your concern. I'm fine."

"Good! I'm glad you are. I was wondering if I could make it up to you."

"No, thank you."

"Please?"

"No, Stark. I don't want to go out with you again."

"Ok. Will you come to the game this Saturday?"

"Probably not."

"Ok. Well. Thanks."

"Goodbye Stark." she said tersly, before returning her attention to the book. He sat there for a long moment, feeling as it she had just punched him out.

He was back to square one. Dammit.

That night he invited Bruce over to take a look at the reactor. True, his science buddy prefered biology and genetics, but he understood things quickly as Tony explained his way through the prototype.

"The palladium burns out too fast. And I can't figure what else to use." he said desperately. Bruce stared at the reactor, his expression deep in thought, and then at the white board of formulas Tony had been up with lately.

"Uranium?"

"Not stable enough."

"Europium?"

"Impossible to get in a stable isotope."

"I don't know then Tony. I think you're on a wild goose chase." Bruce said sadly, sitting down one of the couches in the lab.

"Dammit. I thought you might see something I've overlooked."

"My speciality is genetics, Stark." he said.

"I know, I know. You're also the only guy in school smart enough to understand any of this."

"Fair enough." They were quiet for a moment.

"How goes the hunt for Pepper?" Bruce asked suddenly.

"The hunt has been called off. She doesn't want anything to do with me. Again."

"That sucks."

"And you, what about this Betty I have been hearing things about?"

"Where on earth did you hear that?" Bruce asked glaring at his best friend.

"Its around. Like the undergossip to your and Clint's huge fight."

"She had nothing to do with that."

"She has something to do with why you were there in the first place." Tony said wisely, and Bruce gaped at him.

"Fine. Yes, she did. But she saw me get my ass kicked while out on a date with another girl. Things are kinda messed up. Plus, I'm the waterboy. What possible reason could she have for wanting a nerd like me?"

"She's a total nerd too? That is how she and Jane became friends so fast, Thor told me. And you are a hell of a lot more than the waterboy, give yourself some credit. And why do you think Natasha picked you in the first place?"

"Because she knew I wouldn't piss her off?"

"Please. You're a nice guy. Girls dig nice guys."

"Then how do you end up with as many notches on your bed post." Tony winced.

"That was the old Tony. This is the new Tony." He said softly. Bruce glanced up at him.

"Sorry. That was mean."

"No, you are right."

They sat in silence for a while, each stewing in their own thoughts, before Tony got up to work on the reactor a little more.

* * *

Courage was something Bruce knew he had very little of. He just didn't have the balls that Tony did, or the strength that Thor or Clint had naturally. But seeing Tony change made him sure that he could too. He could try to be brave.

So on Thursday, he made his way to homeroom a bit later than usual. He waited strategeically until after Betty had entered, and then carefully picked out the seat next to her instead of the one behind her. Time to take the plunge.

"Hi." he said "I'm Bruce."

"Betty" She said with a smile, and he noticed her eyes light up and his own temperature shoot through the roof.

"Nice to meet you." His brain was struggling to remember the conversation he had plotted out.

"You too" She was still smiling. Damn, she had a nice smile.

"I was, umm, wondering, if you were coming to the game on Saturday? Avengers versus Raiders."

"Yeah, umm, my friend Jane invited me. Are you on the team too?" He gulped.

"Sorta. I'm the assisstant coach."

"Wow. I didn't think students could coach teams." Her smile is perfect he thought.

"I'm the exception."

"Well, I will definitely be there then." His brain went a little haywire as the teacher started class. He could not believe he had pulled this off. An actual conversation with Betty! And she was coming to the game on Saturday.

His mind stayed a little hyped and foggy for the rest of the week, thinking that he should invite her to the party after the game, and rehearsing that conversation.

* * *

The game Saturday was going to be a good one. Thor could feel it as he walked into the dressing room, his mind pumped and ready. True, the atmosphere at practice this week had been a little distracted. Clint's game had been shaky at best, so Bruce had modified their plan to focus on the receivers and the passing game. Him, he was just ready to hit someone.

Jane had come over to dinner and had been extremely nervous. True, his family were well off, but he had not thought that dinner would intimidate her that much. His parents had been nice, and she had been polite, but he could sense the tense atmosphere, and it bugged him.

What had made Jane so nervous? Why had it not felt right, to bring her home? And why had she not said I love you to him since that first time?

He had no answers, instead he turned his attention to the game at hand, getting into his pads and warming up. He had planned on talking to Clint, making sure the running back was alright, before the game, but Steve beat him to the punch, Thor heard him say he was fine.

As they made their way out onto the field to the cheering crowd, he could feel the adrenaline mounting. This was why he loved football. Steve, himself, and Sif made their way to center field for the coin toss, as captains. The other team felt nervous, he could almost taste it. He was linning up for the kickoff, to which they would be returning, and he never felt as good as he did right now.

The first quarter passed quickly, with Sif and Thor each getting themselves a sack on defense, and Steve playing a strong passing game on offense. Falstaff was the first with a touchdown, and then as the half came nearer, Tony scored a field goal on a fourth down from thirty five yards out. They were up ten-nothing as the break came.

The second half started badly, with the opposing team returning the kickoff for a touchdown, but Steve took it in stride and set to another drive for a touchdown, running it in himself. The defense back on, and Thor managed to force a fumble which Sif recovered. They were making progress, down to the enemy thirty yard line, when it happened.

It was their simple little play, the toss and run on Clint. Steve was blocking and Clint was running. The linebacker came around the outside and tackled Clint hard. Thor had thought nothing of it. Until Clint didn't get up.

* * *

Natasha was in the stands. It was not like she would miss the game, just because she and Clint were not friends anymore. She had new friends. Jane, Betty and Pepper were all sitting next to her. She had stuffed her hair under a hat to avoid being recognized from the field. She was not coming to support Clint. She was here to support Bruce, who had put her up three times this week. Besides, Jane and Betty were still learning the game and so Natasha found herself explaining most of the time anyway. They all cheered as the touchdowns had been scored, and Natasha admitted that this was alright, that she was having a good time.

She watched the whole game, and she noticed that Steve was focussing on the passing over the running. She wondered if there was something wrong with Clint, but then decided furiously that she did not care.

It was in the third quarter, Pepper and Jane had just gotten back from getting popcorn, when Natasha saw the ball go to number 34. Steve was already up field blocking, but the linebacker had gone outside and was coming at Clint from an angle. The hit was hard, she could hear it from the stands. She forced herself to take another handful of popcorn, not to worry about Clint. He was tough, he could take a hit.

"Is he alright?" Betty asked next to her. Natasha looked back out on the field, and saw him still on the ground. Her heart lept into her throat.

"He is. Clint's tough. You'll see. He's fine." she said softly as much to herself as to Betty.

Bruce was running out onto the field now, and Steve was kneeling next to him, taking off his helmet. The clock had stopped and most of the players on the field had taken a knee. Steve had helped Clint into a sitting position, and Bruce was examining his ankle with careful fingers, before motionning Sif over. Between the two of them, they helped Clint up, and he kept his left foot off the ground all the way off the field.

Natasha let out a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding, as Clint disappeared into the dressing rooms with Sif and Bruce.

"Are you still going to tell me you don't care about him?" Pepper asked beside her.

"I don't care about him. He's tough. He'll be fine." She nodded a little sadly. It was only then that she reaslised the popcorn in her hand had been reduced to crumbs in her fist.

The game continued and the Avengers won, though only by a margin of three points. Natasha made her way straight to Bruce's appartment, climbing in through the window rather hand using the door. He wasn't back yet, so she waited on the pull out couch that was still out from last night. As soon as she heard the key in the door though, she was on her feet.

"How is Clint doing?"

"Natasha? How the hell did you get in here?"

"The window. How's Clint?"

"We're on the fourth floor!"

"There is a fire escape. How is Clint?" Bruce gave her a curious look before taking his jacket off and dropping his bag.

"He's fine Nat. He was taken to hospital, and he has a hairline fracture of the calcaneus."

"A what?"

"A broken ankle. They gave him a cast and some pain killers, but he will not be playing football for at least six weeks."

She nodded absently. She knew his football season was over. He was going to be crushed.

"You staying here tonight?" He asked. He still had not asked why, and she was grateful.

"Wouldn't be here if I wasn't." She said, feeling an echo of having said the same thing to her best friend not two weeks ago. Bruce just gave her a small smile and went into the kitchen to heat up some microwave dinners for them. How had everything gotten screwed up so damn fast?

* * *

Oh No! Poor Clint! What do you think will happen next?


	5. Chapter 5

Good reviews make a girl post more! Thanks for all the love, folks!

* * *

Steve decided he was going to do an intervention right after the game. Hyped up on adrenaline, he also knew it wasn't for his team, or himself that he was going to do it. He was doing it for Clint and Natasha.

Sunday had him visiting Clint at home; the new cast on his leg and painkillers in his system had him in bed for most of the day. The poor guy was so completely dejected by the end of his football season that he wasn't much fun, but as Thor and Bruce showed up in turn, he opened up a little. Tony showed up a little later, with a present which turned out to be a box of colored Sharpies.

"So people can sign your cast, you know." Clint nodded, thanked him and let the guys to draw on his leg. Steve took his time, drawing mini Clint with a bow and arrow, which was quickly declared the best.

As the four guys left Clint's, he elaborated his plan to get the two friends talking again. Bruce jumped readily on board, pointing out that Natasha had clearly been very worried for Clint. Tony could be counted on for any kind of scheming. Thor was a little hesitant, but decided to lend his help.

And so they put their plan into action. Bruce was responsible for getting Natasha. Thor and Tony were on location, and Steve had Clint.

At lunch, Steve asked Clint if he wanted to work through the Hamlet questions, and the last readily agreed, if only for an excuse to stay out of the cafeteria. He had been hobbling around on crutches, but it was clear he hated the limited mobility. Steve let him set the pace as they headed to the library specifically selected because it had only one door and no windows.

Bruce and Natasha were already there. As soon as Steve and Clint arrived, her eyes narrowed at Bruce.

"What is he doing here?" Bruce held her glare, resolutely.

"He's going to talk to you. And you are going to talk to him."

"No. I'm out of here." Natasha said, grabbing her books and heading for the door, where Thor and Tony stood blocking the way. "If I have to go through you I will!" she threatened. Tony gave her a grin, as Bruce and Steve backed them up.

"You two will talk. We're going to give you privacy, but you will talk." Thor said calmly, as Steve began closing the doors. The four of them out they quickly shut them, and Tony activated a strange little metal device he had installed on the outside.

"Door is magnetised. Even if it gets unlocked, it can't open." He said with another grin.

All that was left now was to sit and wait.

* * *

Clint glared at Natasha. She was glaring right back at him, before dropping her backpack and digging through it furiously. She pulled out a couple long tools and started picking at the lock. For a minute there was no sound other than the quiet clinking as she fiddled.

"Tony! Let us the hell out!" She yelled punching the door.

"Not until you two make up!" came the answer. Completely frustrated, she threw the tools back into her bag. Clint pulled a chair out and sat down slowly, leaning his crutches on the table.

"I'm not apologizing" She said bitterly, now glaring at him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Neither am I." he said, glaring right back. For several more minutes there was silence, before he heard her sigh.

"We used to tell each other everything. What happened." she said softly, taking a seat opposite him. It was strange how just being close to her again made him feel alright. Even furious as he was.

"You asked out my friend."

"You punched said friend."

"You punched me!"

"You deserved it." He glared at her again, but he knew she was right there. "How is your ankle?"

"Nice to know you still care." He said sullenly. "I saw you at the game." He watched her freeze, and glare at him again.

"I was there supporting Bruce."

"Bullshit. You're not dating him."

"He is still my friend."

"Have you been staying over at his place then?"

"That is none of your buisness."

"So, yes?"

"What part of none of your buisness do you not understand." He smirked at her.

"Definite yes, then."

"I'm not afraid of hitting a cripple." He pulled himself, to his feet, forgetting about his injury.

"I'm not afraid of hitting a girl." She was toe to toe with him. He felt his whole body grow warm, and he forced himself to concentrate on her green eyes. Her pupils were dilated but still glaring at him. "Do you like me?"

Her punch came quick but his duck was quicker. He tried to move out of her way, to gain some distance, his fists up, but then he remembered his ankle as the cast dragged. He used his bent body to hide a punch into her stomach, throwing her back.

"Not right now I don't!" She growled at him, flipping off the table, and attacking him again. Her martial skills were evident; each attack was near perfect, precise. His fighting was much more dirty. He could hardly dodge her punches, but he managed to block most of them, until a surprise kick threw him to ground. She was on him in a second, throwing another punch into his face when he grabbed her wrist. She might be faster and more sophisticated, but he was stronger. Even crippled. He rolled hard, pushing her into the carpet and holding her down.

"Do. You. Like. Me." He was going to get an answer out of her even if it was the last thing he did. And judging by the intense glare she was directing at him, it was a real possibility.

"Let me go Clint." she countered.

"No. Tell me. Tell me how you feel Natasha. As long as we have been friends, you've told me everything. But you never told me how you felt about me."

"What do you want me to say. That I love you? That we should live together happily ever after? We're seventeen. If we got together... things might really get screwed up." Her eyes were sparkling and he realised with a shock that she was about to cry. He let her go slowly, shuffling off her, ignoring the pain in his foot. She sat up, and turned her face away from him.

A lot of things started to click into place. He had become aware of just how much he needed her in the past two weeks. Her fears were exactly the same as his. And he knew how much she cared, even if she didn't say it.

"Natasha. Look at me." She didn't, so he reached a gentle hand towards her face. She flinched a little and he paused, letting his fingers rest against her skin, before taking her chin and turning her face. Her eyes were brilliant and as he watched, a tear rolled down her cheek. In three years of knowing her, he had never seen Natasha cry. Not even come close. He brushed the tear away. "I've lost you once. I'm not going to do that again."

"You can't promise that."

"Yes I can. And I am." He started to lean in, slowly, giving her plenty of time to back away. He thanked his lucky stars that she didn't.

His lips touched hers, hesitant at first. He could feel her trembling a little, but she didn't move away. It took a moment, but then she was kissing him back. Hard.

Her arms snaked around his neck, holding him closer. His fantasies had never done her justice. She tasted like fire. He had wrapped his own arms around her, pulling her flush against him. His leg was whinning, but right now he could not have cared less. He was kissing Natasha Romanoff.

She broke the kiss, and it might have been a full day later. They were both out of breath. She was staring at him, and her cheeks were flushed.

"Is this really happening?" she asked softly, her hands still on his neck.

"Yes."

"I'm not dreaming?"

"Have you dreamt about this?" he asked a smirk on his face. She gave him a glare but it was ruined by the smile on her lips.

"Maybe."

"Interesting."

"Are we really doing this?"

"Yes." he said it confidently. Now that she was finally in his arms, he damn well wasn't going to let her go.

"But what if we break up? What if this messes things up even more."

"I need you Nat. No matter what happens. I need you."

"I need you too." She whispered, burying her face in his chest.

There was a large clanking from the door, and suddenly Tony's face appeared.

"Good! All fixed?"

"Tony, if you were spying, I will take great pleasure in removing your favorite appendage." Natasha said, throwing him a glare.

"There is a lot at stake here!"

"There isn't. I'm out for at least the regular season." Clint said with a grimace, thinking about the prognosis the doctor had given him.

"I'm not talking about football. I was talking about your sanity." Tony said, sounding almost sincere.

He probably should have been mad at his friends. He probably should have been pissed that his season had been killed. But Clint could not find it in himself to be angry about anything with Natasha near. Especially now.

* * *

Tony was extremely proud of his work with the intervention. If only because it distracted him from his failures these past two weeks. Clint and Natasha were fixed up. It hadn't changed the way they acted, they were still the same old pair. But there was a smile on either of their faces every now and then.

He would have given a hell of a lot to have the exact same smile on his face.

Pepper had made it completely clear that she was not interested in Tony. But he was not done with her yet. He was determine that his date to prom would be Pepper Potts. And she would be his girlfriend too.

With Clint out for the rest of the season, the team wasn't doing too well either, but they were holding together. Short on the running game, Steve and Bruce had focused on their passing game even more, working all the receivers harder than ever. The season had just become a lot harder.

As for his reactor, he was about a day away from throwing the towel completely. Unless he managed to come up with a new element, the reactor was completely useless. He had managed to shut down most of the weapons manufacturing, ended costing a load of people their jobs, and not replaced with anything, meaning Stark Industries was in serious trouble.

With everything going on, he was grateful Steve had included him in the Clint intervention. And it had given him a little inspiration of something else he could do.

Tuesday he tried to talk to Pepper, but she straight up ignored him. Practice that evening had been good, Clint showing up even if he couldn't do more than sit by Bruce and watch. Wednesday, he put his new plan in motion.

He made his way through the lunch room, carefully ignoring the calls from a few cheerleaders. He instead sat down next to Thor, who was sitting next to Jane, and Jane was sitting in front of Betty.

"Hello friends." He said with a charming grin.

"Tony Stark, right?" Betty said.

"In the flesh. And you must be the famous Betty." she gave him a startled glance. "I have heard a lot about you."

"Really? Who from. I don't really know anyone around here."

"Well, from Thor, that you are Jane's new bestie. And from a science bro of mine, something about being the most beautiful girl ever. That you are smart as hell, a complete biology nerd, but also very nice."

She stared at him. Thor smiled, catching on.

"Its true he never does shut about her, does he?"

"Who?"

"Wait, has he not said anything to you?" Tony said.

"Who!?" Jane and Betty said simultaneously.

"Shit. You have to promise I didn't tell you. Promise!"

"Promise." Betty said.

"Do you know Bruce Banner?" She looked a little surprised for a minute, then a blush ran up her cheeks, and she suddenly looked extremely happy.

"Is that why you changed your mind about the game?" Jane asked, almost accusing.

"Well, he asked if I was going to come, and... well, I said I would, so I did."

"Interesting..." Tony said scratching his chin. "You should ask him out."

"No... No I can't do that. I hardly know him."

"Dating him would be a great way to get to know him." Tony said, in a sing song voice.

"Tony, stop it." Jane said. "If she doesn't want to, then she doesn't have to."

"Well, do me a favor and don't tell him I told you he likes you. Good day to you." He said before leaving.

Hopefully that would get the wheels turning in that department. And maybe, if Pepper heard about what he was doing for his friends, she would believe he had changed. At least a little.

* * *

Bruce stared at Tony as he sat in front of Betty. He could not here the conversation, but he suspected it had something to do with him. He could think of no other reason for Tony to be talking to Betty. And because it was Tony, he suspected it was nothing good. He could feel the anger boiling in him.

His plan to talk to Betty after the game had not exactly happened. Clint's injury had completely distracted him from Betty, instead he had spent his evening in the hospital. But he had seen her at the game, sitting with Pepper and Jane.

As soon as his best friend took off from the table and left the cafeteria, he followed.

He found him strutting his way to the labs and did not hesitate to take him by the shirt and slam him against the lockers.

"Hey!" he yelled.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Chill out Bruce!"

"What are you doing talking to Betty?" he growled.

"I was helping you!" he yelled and pushed Bruce away.

"What?"

"I was talking you up to her!" Bruce held him pinned by his shirt and glared.

"What do you mean? What did you say to her exactly?"

"That you like her. That you think she's gorgeous. You never said it but its obvious, the way you moon at her." Bruce finally let him go, and stepped back. Tony took a deep breath, straightening his shirt. "What's gotten into you?"

"Sorry." he said, "Sorry, I thought... I dunno."

"Protective much?" Tony said glaring at him. "Geez, Bruce, you scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry." he said, suddenly aware of how easily he had lost control. He was suddenly terrified he was actually succombing to violence. Tony wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"I'm sorry too, I should have told you what I was doing. I dunno, Steve's intervention had me thinking of how else I could help you out too." He actually looked sorry, and that made Bruce feel worse.

"Its fine Tony. I over reacted. I shouldn't have reacted like that."

"Well, you should ask her out. She came to the game to see you." He perked up a little, then suddenly slumped again.

"I can't. I'm dangerous."

"What the hell are you talking about Bruce? You are one of the nicest, most innocent guys in this hellhole. Only one I can think of who is nicer than you is Steve, and he doesn't have half your brains."

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. He had never told Tony about his... condition. He took a careful look up and down the empty hallway, and then decided it wasn't private enough, leading the way to the lab. He was lucky, the door was unlocked and Tony had actually followed. He quickly checked the whole room, and locked the door.

"What's gotten into you, Bruce?" Tony asked and he hear the worry in his voice. Huh. Tony Stark actually cared.

"What do you know about monoamine oxidase A?"

"Its an enzyme?"

"Yeah. Its associated with violent behavior. A genetic predisposition."

"So? Its a predisposition, that means something else would have to trigger it."

"I have it." Tony stared at him for a minute.

"Like I said, you would need a trigger. Some kind of catalyst for it to be activated."

"I was abused for the first eight years of my life." Bruce said it quietly, his eyes on the floor. He heard Tony exhale, and slump against the counter.

"I'm sorry, Bruce." He said softly. There was silence in the room, and it was starting to crushing him. He turned and started fiddling with the test tubes still linned up on the counter.

"Its not your fault."

"Its not yours either." Bruce remarked, his back still to his best friend.

"Bruce... none of us are perfect. And I don't think you are some murderer in the making." Trust Tony to make a joke of this.

"I'm dangerous." he whispered.

"Now, that is ridiculous." Tony said, rounding the counter and staring at him. "Bruce, you are fine. Trust me you are. And you should ask Betty out."

"What if I hurt her? I can't deal with that."

"You won't."

"How the hell do you know that, Tony?"

"Fine, be difficult and alone."

"Tony, please don't... You know, tell anyone?"

"I won't. But I still maintain, you should ask her out." He promptly left the lab, leaving Bruce feeling very confused and very nervous about his best friend.

* * *

Thor was very glad for Clint and Natasha. At the same time though, he felt highly nervous about Jane. She was not the same as she had before, pulling away from him. He had not seen her at all on Monday or Tuesday. By Wednesday, he was downright worried. He finally managed to find her, talking to Betty in the cafeteria.

"Jane, can I talk to you?" She glanced up at him, and her expression became one of guilt.

"Sure." Normally, she would have taken his hand. She might have given him a hug, or reached up for a quick kiss. She didn't do any of that, just led the way out of the school, to the tree where they had lunch on the first day of school. How had everything gone so wrong in just three weeks?

She sat down at the base of the tree, and he took a careful seat next to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I want to know why you are pulling away from me." He had never been known for his subtility. He was much more of a straight to the point kind of guy. "What am I doing wrong? Is it something I did?"

She sighed and looked away from him. "Its not your fault, Thor."

"Then what is it? What can I do to fix it?" he started to reach for her, but thought the better of it half way through the movement.

"You can't fix it. Its just me. I have never been in a real relationship before. I'm not sure how this goes."

"Neither do I."

"I'm just trying to figure it out, Thor. I do care about you. You have to know that."

"I care about you too. I don't want to screw this up."

"Just give me some space a little ok?"

"You want a break?" He said, fear suddenly soaking his brain.

"No! Just, we don't have to be together all the time. We can have some time apart. And sometimes I don't want a compliment when I ask you a question. I want a straight answer."

He nodded. He had already changed for her, so much. And he realised she wanted him to be serious with her. He had always tried to be playful, to be funny or charming.

"Alright. I understand." She smiled at him, and turned onto her knees to kiss him on the lips. He sighed. Whenever she was here in his arms, he felt like he could take on anything. As long as she was his, everything was going to be fine.

"This Relationship isn't new anymore, but I still want it to work." She said softly, smiling at him.

"I love you, Jane." He whispered into her ear.

"I love you too, Thor. My Thor."

"My Jane." He hugged her close as the bell rang.

* * *

It was hard for Natasha to deal with so much joy in her life. But she was soaking up every second of it.

She was back to sleeping in Clint's bed, every night since Monday. She wasn't afraid to curl up to him anymore, or show that she liked him a lot. She loved when he wrapped his arms around her as he slept, making her feel completely safe. It was a feeling she had not actually felt in a long time. Safe, warm and comfortable.

Sure, his broken ankle had him moaning most of the time. And their bantering had not changed in the slightest. He was definitely saddened about his football season, and spent more and more of his time out in the woods with his bow and some arrows. This was their special spot. Here, they could hear no one, and no one could find them.

"Do you want to go to the game tomorrow?" she asked, perched in a tree, watching him shoot, putting most of his weight on his good leg.

"Of course. Steve said I can watch from the bench." He said, taking another arrow out and linning up his shot. It hit the bullseye of the target they had set up. He let his bow fall to his side and turned to her, picking up one crutch and hobbling over to her. She hopped down to meet him, and helped him get the other crutch. "I wanted to ask you something about the team."

"What?"

"Take my spot."

"What?" Her tone had gone cold.

"I'm serious. The running game is shit, and there is no way we will be able to beat the Warriors without it. They have the best pass coverage in the state."

"I can't! I have no idea how you pull that shit off! Memorising the plays and..."

"Natasha, you are even faster than I am. I'll coach you myself if you want. I'll teach you the plays. And I know you can do it easily."

"You really think I could do it?" she said doubtfully, but his eyes were blazing with confidence.

"No. I know you could."

"You are nuts." She said, leading the way back to civilization, Clint following slowly.

"I'll go with you if you want."

"I really doubt I could." She said, as they got to the near empty parking lot. She helped Clint into the passenger seat of his truck and put his crutches into the cab, before climbing into the driver seat.

"Just think about it. Jimmy Sitwell sucks balls as a running back."

And she did. She could not stop thinking about it. She hardly slept that night, staring at Clint's ceiling, and the pictures on his nightstand. There was one at a win last year, of her and Clint. He was still in his pads, sweat was still shinning on his face, but his smile was bright, and he had an arm slung around her shoulders. It had been put in the school paper, with an article describing the three hundred rushing yards Clint had pulled off on that particular day. Another was the team picture, last year. Most of the team had serious, tough looks on their faces, except for Thor, who had a huge grin. Clint had a serious look, but his eyes were revealing his smile.

She rolled over, thinking again about joining the team. She knew Clint would not be insulted, since it was his suggestion. He would help her, train her and all the rest. Sif was on the team too, she would not be the only girl. She wondered if the other guys on the team would be welcoming. Steve would. And Bruce would too.

She glanced over at the boy sleeping next to her, smiling a little in his sleep. She had not said it yet, but she loved him. She had for a long time, without realising it. He was completely annoying most of the time, but he was always there for her. Even after the Homecoming fiasco, he had left his room to her. She had only stayed here one night, braving her uncle's place the rest of the time.

An arm snuck around her waist, pulling her back to him. She settled her head against his chest, letting his strong steady heartbeat lull her into sleep. She would talk to Steve in the morning. For Clint, for the team, she would. As soon as he was better, she'd give him his spot back.

* * *

Oh Boy! Heavy chapter... Natasha is going for the team! Think she'll be any good? Also a special thanks to Wikipédia for the info on the MAOA enzyme.

Tell me what you would like to see in the next chapters! I have a few ideas, but I would love to hear what you think.


	6. Chapter 6

Steve was woken up early on Saturday morning by the phone ringing. He answered in a muffled voice, still laced with sleep.

"Hey Steve? Its Clint."

"Hey... what the hell are you doing up at... 7:23 on a Saturday." he said rubbing sleep from his face.

"Can you come down to the field? There is something I want to talk to you about." His voice sounded very excited. Steve groaned.

"Please? Trust me."

"Give me an hour."

"Ok, see you in a bit."

An hour and fifteen minutes later, Steve yawned as he walked into the high school change room, surprised to find it unlocked.

"Alright, what the hell is going..." he trailed off, as he took the sight in.

Natasha Romanoff stood observing the whiteboard, fully dressed in football gear, a helmet under her arm. Her red hair was loose, but her eyes were serious. Clint leaned on one crutch, his free hand describing a play to her with a black marker. Both looked up at him as he entered. It took several seconds for his mind to comprehend what he was seeing. At the sound of him coming though, both friends looked up.

"You... serious?" he asked.

"Completely. Until Clint gets better." Natasha said.

"There is a game tonight!"

"Maybe not tonight. But next week, she will be more than ready." Clint said, determination and pride mingling on his face.

"Again, are you serious."

"Yes." Natasha said, a hint of frustration in her voice.

"We could use your help... broken ankles don't allow for much mobility."

Steve stared, trying to process the information. No one was faster than Natasha, that was a fact. Sitwell was truely terrible. He took a deep breath.

"Ok. Lets do this." he said, picking up a football, and leading the way out to the field.

They worked for most of the morning, Steve first pretending a few basic plays for Natasha to get used to, Clint teaching her how to hold the ball, and giving the occasional tip on how to move. Then Steve went on defense and tried to block her, smiling when he could not lay a finger on her. Her style was different to Clint's, she was smaller and faster, but also more graceful. Instead of lowering her shoulder into a crowd, she would twirl her way around it, and actually pull it off. But when it was necessary to block, she used Clint's tips and her own limited strength for all she had, and actually managed to keep Steve from moving forward.

He had to admit he was impressed. Clint had a grin on his face, and even Natasha had a little smirk as she help the captain off the turf again. It was near noon when they called it quits, Clint insisting they go to a dinner not too far from the school. He had called Bruce, who accepted his new teammate with nothing more than a raised eyebrow. Steve would have to talk with Fury about this, but he had a feeling the head coach would be lenient. He might even let her dress tonight.

Steve spent his afternoon collecting his thoughts, and drawing. The cool October air was refreshing after the heat of the summer they had had. He liked the cool better anyway. At three thirty, he made his way back to the school, and talked the plan over with Fury.

It was not a hard team they were up against, but with Clint out, they were not in the strongest shape. He spotted the poor guy in the change room, his jersey on over a longsleeved shirt and jeans, looking almost longingly at his friends as they got dressed. Natasha appeared with Sif, just as Fury entered. Silence fell on the room.

She was wearing number 28, and unlike her only other female teammate, her hair was loose. Her eyes wandered over each player individually, as if challenging them to say something against her being there. No one said anything.

Fury gave a quick pregame speech, after introducing Natasha as their new second string running back. He had argued that until she was measured against Sitwell, he could not start her, but that had suited her and Steve just fine.

The team poured out onto the field to the roar of the fans. Most of the town had shown up to support them, now that they were on a two game winning streak.

It was hard not to get pumped in such an atmosphere. He smiled as Tony wound up a kick deep into enemy territory, starting the game.

Clint was more nervous sitting on the sidelines, watching the game than he was actually playing one. The last time they had played this team, the then-Renegades had wiped the turf with them. Now though, it was a new team with new complications.

Through the entire first half, for the ten times he got the ball, Sitwell only managed to cross the line of scrimage once. Each time the poor kid got tackled, Clint could not help but wince. It did not help that the opposing team's linebacker looked a bit like he had been on steroids, and not in a good way.

Steve managed to keep the passing game on track, so that at the half, they were only losing by three points.  
Clint hobbled into the change room, simmering slightly. The last run Sitwell had had been blindingly easy, and still the dumbass had decided to go inside.

He would make this change himself, if Fury and Steve were not brave enough to do it. He took a seat next to the dumbass.

"Sitwell, how did you miss the gap on that last one?" he started, trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice.

"I don't know! I never thought... The last time, the blockers went out, so..." The poor kid was struggling it was clear to see. Clint felt a little bit of pity spring out. "I never thought I would have to play. You were always so good..." Sitwell's voice was so sad and dejected, it almost made him blush.

"I'm only human, kid. But I have a proposition for you. Let Natasha take the next half. Even just the last quarter."

"Why, think your girlfriend is better than me?"

"Yeah, actually I do. Not because she is my girlfriend. Because I practiced with her all morning and she is that good."

"She's a girl!"

"Sif's a girl. You saying you are better than her." The fear on the kid's face was evident.

"No. Hell no."

"Just trust me. You're a good kid, but if you keep trying you are going to get yourself hurt." Clint said, keeping his voice steady.

"Alright. I only really joined the team to get laid. And that hasn't really happened yet..." He could not help the laugh that came out of him, and Sitwell gave him a small smile, just as Steve hustled them out onto the field.

The first drive was tough. The opposing team, spurred on by their lead, was playing harder than ever to keep it. In three downs, Steve only managed to gain nine yards, still too deep to try a field goal. Bruce took quick stock and sent a hand signal to Steve.

They were going for it.

He held his breath as he watched Steve lined up, with most of the offense in blocking positions. Only Natasha was left behind him.

The ball snapped and the boys lept onto each other, expecting the quarter back sneak. His eagle eyes though, saw the ball pass into number 28's hands, as she forced her way into the dogpile. For several seconds, he thought she was down.

And then she was out the other end, running towards the endzone, with absolutely nothing in her way.

He cheered his voice hoarse, with the rest of the crowd as she held the ball up high, most of the players on the field just now realizing what happened. They were up sixteen to ten.

For the rest of the game, the Avengers dominated the field and the scoreboard. Steve scored once more, and Thor got himself another interception, as well as Fandral scoring another touchdown. Natasha took the ball as regularly as Clint would have, and even if his heart stopped a little every time she got tackled, he forced himself to think that she was just as tough, if not tougher than he was.

Fury handed her the ball at the end of the game, and she took it with a smile on her face. He had rarely seen her look so happy. And he had never felt so proud of some thing in his life.

* * *

Tony yelled another congratulations over the crowd at his place. Now with three straight wins, the Avengers were well on their way to the championship. So at least that was one thing that was going well, and that was what he was going to focus on tonight as he celebrated.

Natasha had been nothing short of fantastic on the field, even if she was her usual reserved self at the party afterwards. She was in a corner with Clint, warding off the few guys that were brave enough to come talk to her. Tony could see her hand linked with Clint, half hidden behind them and smiled, thinking he had helped make it happen.

Bruce wasn't there either, Tony suspected he had gone straight home with a hundred play ideas swirling in his head. The poor guy was going to work himself into the ground, if he kept this up.

Thor had not even bothered to come, and Jane was probably with him, but Pepper had, he saw. He had to actively keep himself from striding over to her and announcing he wanted her. She knew that and the chances were he would walk away from that encounter with an injury if she took a leaf out of Natasha's book.

So he stayed within sight of her, celebrating with Volstagg and Sif, not letting his attention drift to any girls that were there. He didn't want them anyways, they would just be a temporary distraction. He was new Tony. And new Tony did not screw random girls anymore.

Finally around one in the morning, the party started to die, and only a few people remained. He offered places to sleep, and called cabs for those that refused. Standing at his door he said enthusiastic goodbyes to everyone who had come, until Pepper was the one to pass. He gave her a warm smile.

"Can I get you a cab?" He asked, just as he had asked the last twenty people to pass through his door.

"If you don't mind, that would be great." She said, her voice sounding almost strict. Tony gave a wave to Happy, his personal driver. There was no way he was going to let Pepper Potts get into a cab, when there was a Aston Marton Rapide that could take her much more comfortably to where ever she needed to go.

"Here." he said, opening the door for her.

"Tony, that is not a cab."

"No, its not, but it is yours for the evening. Call it my way of saying sorry."

"I can get a cab on my own, Stark."

"You'd make Happy feel bad." It was a low card to play, but he was desperate to show her he cared. He stuck his head into the car. "Sorry, Happy, she doesn't want to get in."

"Oh alright." She said, throwing her hands in the air. "As long as Betty can use it too." Tony had not noticed the brunette standing beside Pepper, but he gave a smile and a nod, as both girls climbed in.

"Goodnight Pepper." He said just before shutting the door.

"I still don't forgive you Stark." came her reply just as the door slammed shut.

Damn, she had a way of stomping on his balls.

* * *

Bruce walked down the hall on Monday morning, truly happy someone out there had invented coffee. He had been working on new plays to use Natasha's speed for the better part of the weekend, and was now completely exhausted. So exhausted, he did not have the awareness to realize Betty was walking towards him.

"Hi Bruce." Adrenaline shot through his system and he was suddenly very awake. He gave her a small smile, hoping the shadows under his eyes were not too obvious.

"Hi Betty. Good weekend?"

"Yeah. You did really good at the game on Saturday." A blush was quickly spreading from his cheeks to his ears.

"Thanks. Natasha is pretty different from Clint, but she is really good too."

"I don't know too much about football to be honest. I was watching you most of the time." If he had been holding anything, he might have dropped it. His jaw had gone slack and he had to quickly snap it shut.

"Oh. Thank you?"

"You're welcome" She said. _Ask her out, now dumbass, or forever leave her alone!_

"There is another game this Friday. Against our rivals, the Warriors. Are you..."

"I already bought a ticket." She said, a blush creeping up her own cheeks. Huh. He had made a girl blush. That was new.

"Well, good! Umm, if we win, Tony throws a party usually, and if you want, I could meet up with you there?"

"Are you sure? You weren't at the one on Friday." Betty said, her eyes betraying a bit of hurt.

"You were there?"

"Pepper talked me into it. She wanted something called a Tony buffer."

"Oh. Yeah, Tony can need a buffer sometimes."

"Why weren't you there?"

"I umm, I wanted to get some ideas for Natasha down, I got completely distracted... It ended up taking most of my weekend."

"You get distracted a lot?"

"Sometimes?" She nodded and looked him up and down. He suddenly felt like he was being X-rayed. "I'll be there this weekend. Promise."

"Ok. Its a date."

"Yeah. Its a date." She smiled as she walked into class.

He could feel a huge grin climb on his face, did not even care that he looked like an idiot. He was meeting up with Betty. He had a freaking DATE with Betty. Somewhere deep down, there was a part of him that was panicking slightly that she might get hurt at his hands. The memory of his mother crashing through the coffee table still haunted him, even if it had been over ten years ago. He took a deep breath and steadied himself. He would not hurt Betty. He liked her too damn much.

* * *

Thor glanced nervously as Jane sat on his bed. He would gladly admit he never had been in this situation before.

"Ok. Serious?"

"Completely." She said, crossing her legs and patting the duvet. He sat down next to her. "Talk to me. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing! I mean, other than football, and you, I have nothing to be nervous about?" He watched her disapointed expression and sighed. He had never told anyone about it and he was not going to start now. It did not in the slightest affect Jane. "Its nothing. Nothing you need to worry about Jane."

"I worry about you Thor." He held her gaze as she tried to force it out of him with a staring contest. "Fine. When you are ready to talk about it. You know you can talk to me right?"

"Yes. I've never talked like this with a girl. Its a bit strange."

"Fair enough." She said wrapping an a hand into his. She really was tiny compared to him. It just made him want to be strong and protect her even more. "I applied to the University of New Mexico today. Sent my application in and everything."

"You'll get in. They'd be stupid to say no to you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Have you thought about college?"

"Yes, actually. Since you talked about it... I've looked into football at the college level and some programs... in political science." She gave him another quizzical look, the look she had when she had found a problem she did not know the answer to yet, but she was determined to find.

"Political science? Really? Why?"

"Its what I've been told I should study. My dad, you know, he's a senator and all that, and I'm supposed to follow in his footsteps or whatever. Its something to study."

"That doesn't seem fair. You should study what you like. What you have a passion for. Not what your parents say you have to."

"What else should I do, Jane? I have no idea what else I should study. I'm not particularly good at anything except football. And I do agree with you, I should have a back up. Something else to rely on."

"You have to answer that. But the football programs, you think they will recruit you?"

"I hope so. I know I'm good enough. The University of New Mexico needs some new linebackers. And I don't want to be too far away from you." He said, wrapping an arm around her, and kissing her temple.

"God, you can be corny."

"Yeah, but you like it."

"I do. And I don't want to be too far from you either. But I also don't want to stand between you and a good opportunity."

"You wouldn't. I just want to consider you in the choice. You matter."

"So you actually want to join a team that hasn't won a conference title in forty years?" He stared at her. "I did a little research myself. The Lobos aren't exactly a great team to join." He sighed.

"You are something else, you know."

"I try." He smiled as he kissed her. He was lucky. Incredibly lucky. She was right but he would not tell her that. He would think about what kind of career he could maybe have other than football. And maybe one day, far in the future, he would tell her his secret.

* * *

Natasha smiled as the practice ended and she walked back to the changerooms with Sif. For once in her god awful life, everything was going well. She had a man who loved her (even if he didn't say it, and she wasn't stupid enough to call him a boy), a new sport to master which she was actually enjoying, and some new girlfriends to boot. As she took off the sweaty pads, she gave Sif a grin.

"I see why you fought so hard to get on the team. Its a rush, out there." Her new teammate nodded.

"It is. I've never really liked conforming to stereotypes. I mean, I like getting dressed up on occasion, but I like throwing a guy to the ground too."

"I hear you there." She knew she had more in common with Sif than with Pepper, or Betty. And yet, they had never really talked until Natasha joined the team.

"It is a pleasure to have another girl out there." She added with a smirk, before stepping into the shower.

Football was fun. There was no other word for it. Sure, she had bruises on her entire body, and her elbows had been scrapped to hell, and she ached just about everyday. But she was having fun out there. She should stop being stubborn and accept that maybe Clint was right that she was good.

Natasha knew she wasn't as good as Clint. She might be faster, but he was stronger and had years of experience on his side. She was just filling in for him, because she knew that the second the doctors gave him the green light, he would be on the field. Even injured, he cared about the team and about their progress.

By the time she made her way to the parking lot in clean clothes, and waved a goodbye to Sif, Clint had already fallen asleep in his truck. Instead of waking him, she just pilfered the keys from his pocket and started the engine, taking them both to his house.

Ever since they had gotten together, she had spent almost every night at his place. It had been almost exactly like old times, except now, there was the added bonus of kissing him, and occasionally making out on his bed before falling asleep. And damn, he was a good kisser.

She had avoided almost all physical intimacy. True, their romantic relationship was only a week and a half old, and she did not want to screw it up. But there was a few more things she needed to tell him before they got there. And glancing over at his snoozing shape, she wondered if she could trust him with them.

He woke up as she parked the truck in front of his house.

"Thanks for driving." He said, his voice still muddled.

"Thanks for the lift." She said, letting him lead the way into the house and up to his room.

"Practice was good today. You just have to remember to cut inside on the button hook. Volstagg is always there." He said as he closed the door and let himself fall on his bed.

"Clint?"

"Yeah?"

"Stop talking about football." She curled up next to him, and he put an arm around her. He had never done that until they started dating officially, even if she had woken up with him holding her loosely a couple times last year.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Damn. He had a gift for telling when she had something to say and didn't want to say it.

"Its just... stuff. Not important." She said, trying to wave it off. She was not ready for this talk. Not yet. Not now, like this, when she was sore and bruised and wanted to sleep, and he had his foot in a cast.

"Talk to me." He said, lifting her face to look at him. Damn his eyes, she thought. They could see through the center of the earth. She reached up to kiss him instead. He let her for a minute, but then pushed her back.

"Nice try. What's on your mind?"

"Its complicated. Now's not the time to talk about it."

"Then when is?"

"Not now."

"What is it Natasha. You can tell me anything, you know it." Yeah. She knew for certain, if there was one person in the universe that she could trust, it was Clint Barton.

Slowly, she pushed herself up to her knees. "Alright. Its not what you think." She might as well start here. If they were going to do this whole relationship thing. She took the hem of her shirt and lifted it up over her head.

She watched his smirk at her initial movement freeze, and then turn into a frown that moved straight into a look of horror as he took her in.

"Tasha, what happened." It was a secret she had kept even from him, because she had not wanted to seem so damaged. She had wanted to be tough, and scars were evidence of weakness. She had hid them, because she did not want anyone getting that close.

From her shoulder to her navel ran a large scar, clearly from a burn, that was still red in places. Under it, were horizontal marks, thin and faded, now years old, but that were still visible.

Her breath hitched as he watched her with a little panic in his voice now.

"Natasha. What happened."

"You know that fire, that my parents died in?" She said softly, not allowing any part of her to touch him. She had never felt so open or vulnerable. She was showing him her deepest secrets, not just the ones that were skin deep. "I almost died in it too. A fireman pulled me out, I wasn't breathing and he saved me. I woke up in hospital with half my chest caved in and my entire family dead." She turned her face as she felt the tears welling up into her eyes. He was going to end it with her after seeing her like this. She knew she had been stupid to start this, to show him anything about her.

"Tasha. Look at me." She did. If only because she knew if she didn't he would touch her and the tears would spill.

"I didn't want you to think I was weak. I've been through hell and back, Clint. I'm a pretty messed up person. I just thought... You should know now."

She was making a grab for her t-shirt when his hand stopped her. She made the mistake of looking into his eyes then. Damn him and his beautiful eyes, that were full of compassion now as he sat up and pulled her to him.

"You're beautiful Natasha. You always were and you always will be." He took her face in his hands and kissed her softly. She could feel the tears running down her cheeks at last, and she found she did not much care. He was still kissing her. Even after finding out about her... damage. "Inside and out." He whispered, breaking the kiss.

"I'm fucked up."

"So am I." he said swiftly, locking his arms around her. She suddenly felt something very different from the softness he was talking about. Something very hard in his crotch region. She threw him a glare on reflex. "Come on. You pull your shirt off for the first time and you expect me not to react this way?" He said with a smirk.

"No. I thought scars were a turn off." she said sincerely. He chucked and kissed her, deep, down to the ends of her toes.

"Not for me. Scars are hot. Especially on my hot girlfriend."

"You are fucked up." She said, a smile finally finding its way to her lips. She could not believe he had taken it so well, her broken self. They were like two broken pieces of the same jar, she thought as they laid down kissing their hearts out. They just fit together, making something whole again.

* * *

Thanks for all the love folks! Reviews make a girl post faster!

Also, I have seen a quarterback sneak end up a touch down. It was one of the most incredible plays ever.


	7. Chapter 7

Steve peeked into the art room again, very quietly. He was looking the the girl that had scared the crap out of him. It was Wednesday afternoon again, and he really wanted another art therapy session. The pressure this week, with the Warriors game coming up, was very quickly building to massive proportions. He needed to relax, to calm his nerves, and this was one excellent way he knew how.

He had thought quite a bit about her. He wanted to stand up to her, he had no idea why he had so much trouble with it last time. He was a leader, the football captain, he had to be able to stand up to one strange art chick.

She wasn't there. He carefully looked at each of the three people in the room, before creeping in, and taking a seat at the same table as two weeks ago. With a small sigh of relief, he took another piece of paper, cleared his mind and started sketching.

He did not realize really what it was until he was almost half way through his drawing exactly what he was drawing. It was her. Except her gaze was on her painting, soft and careful, her hand holding a brush and the light caught in her hair.

He paused, wondering why the hell he was drawing her. She was a mystery alright. He glanced up to the other people, none of which paid any attention to him. He sighed again and glanced back at his half finished sketch, adding a little more shadow to her shoulder.

"Very good. Interesting choice." Came a voice from over his shoulder. He jumped and a large black mark crossed the upper corner of the page. He turned quickly and let out a startled cry.

She was standing right behind him, a calm look on her face as she watched him squirm.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean... I mean, I didn't want to..." he said quickly, scrambling to try and pick his stuff up, folding the sketch up.

"Are you going to run off again." How could she still sound so calm and collected when he felt so... panicky?

"No?" He said, looking up at her again. She looked back again. Her hand fell on the folded up sketch, taking it from him and unfolding it.

"I didn't know you could draw." she said as she examined his drawing. He swallowed nervously. Hardly anyone had ever seen his art. It was something he kept to himself.

"I learned when I was a kid. I've never shown anyone, but it helps sometimes, when I have a lot on my mind..."

"Art is a therapy to a lot of people." she said, handing him back his sketch. Her eyes met his, he felt all the air leave his lungs. "But the girl you drew doesn't exist."

He stared at her, confusion filling his mind. She was right here in front of him, he knew she recognised herself.

"Does that make you a ghost?" He asked, nervously.

"No. But no one is perfect. That girl is not perfect, even if you drew her perfectly." She said, before turning on her heel and leaving him questioning what the hell she meant. He looked back at the drawing. She did look perfect. In real life and in the drawing. Suddenly, he felt curious. Where could her flaws be, if she had any? He did not even know her name.

Glancing up at the other two artists in the room, he shuffled over.

"Hey?" The first boy started, but the second girl did not even move from her chair, continuing with her drawing.

"Yeah?"

"That girl, that was just in here. What's her name?"

"Peggy. Peggy Carter. She moved here from England, but that is all I know. He turned back to his painting, leaving Steve both curious and nervous. True, the first time he had met her, she had been intimidating beyond belief. This time though, she had just been confusing. He wanted to know more about her.

* * *

Clint struggled with the whole day. Somehow, facing off with the Warriors had given him a wicked case of the nerves, and he wasn't even playing. The doctor had said another two weeks with his cast, and Bruce was insisting on leaving him off the field for another week after that. But he could not for the life of him understand what had gotten him so nervous, or how the hell Natasha was managing to stay so damn _calm_.

Through the whole week, under all the pressure Steve, Fury, Bruce and the rest of the team put on her, she had remained completely calm and in control. He had no idea how she did it. If he could bottle it up and sell it, he's be even richer than Tony.

"Natasha?" he asked as she walked towards the field. The game was starting in two hours, and they were both on their way.

"Clint?"

"Are you alright?" She stopped and looked at him.

"I'm fine." She said.

"Are you sure? I mean, you've been dealing with this really well, and..."

"I'm fine, Clint." He smirked at her and kissed her lightly.

"How'd you do it?" He watched a small shadow pass over her face, as she looked at the ground.

"Lets just say this is nothing. This pressure. I've been through worse."

"Ok. Good luck. How do you say good luck in Russian." She gave him a glare.

"You want to learn Russian?"

"I just... was trying to be cute?"

"Don't. Its a bad look for you."

"Sorry. Don't let me down." He said, kissing her again.

"See you on the field."

He hoped she would be alright. He knew the Warriors defense was tough. He knew exactly how strong they were. He forced himself to think about how tough his girlfriend was.

* * *

Tony smiled as they entered the stadium. The whole team was running with him, pumped and determined to kick the Warriors asses into the turf. And he was not going to get cocky on this one.

He glanced up on to the stands and smiled when he saw Pepper there. Her orange hair was easy to spot and she was clapping and cheering with the rest of them. He took courage from the fact that she was there. And that she might actually want them to win. He would come up with a new plan to get her to talk to him after the game, but for now he needed to focus on the game.

He could compartmentalize.

They lost the coin toss, so he was up straight from the top.

"Aim right. Thor and Volstagg are lined up and their kick returner apparently just broke up with his girl." Bruce whispered.

Tony did as he was told; he knew better than to question Bruce's instincts. Thor managed to get the guy down inside the enemy thirty yard line. So it begins.

Thor and Sif took to the field, and held the Warriors at center field, forcing a punt. Steve got the ball at their own twenty yardline. Bruce glanced down at his tablet, and the drive started. Tony could feel the pressure, and could not stop pacing, even as Steve managed to lead the charge forwards, all the way to the forty. Then the linebacker sacked Steve.

He was up. Fourth and seventeen. They needed the points, the momentum. He had never managed a field goal from forty yards out.

The snap was high, but Steve was fast and set the ball right. The line up was as good as any and he felt good as his foot connected with the leather. The ball soared towards the uprights, sinking right in between them. He jumped up with a cheer.

The rest of the first half went rather well. Their defense held up the Warrior offense well enough, only allowing one field goal on their side. Steve did not get sacked again, though he did not score again either. The closest they came to the goal line was center field, too far out for even him to score, meaning they were tied at the half.

The whole team was feeling the strain. Bruce could almost taste it in the changeroom at the half. The team sat in a very familiar silence. He was up. It was his job to turn the bloody thing around.

"Alright team. New plan." He said, stridding forward. The entire team looked up and he felt the pressure spike. "A good offense is a good defense. Steve, Thor, Volstagg, Hokun, and Sif, you're all going to play both ways. That defense is tough, but we are tougher." The assigned players nodded. "Defense, they cannot get another yard. Blitz all night if you have to, you can rest up next week. Offense, we're going to try a few of our trick plays, see if we can confuse them rather than trying to beat them. Their biggest weakness is their strength, so lets see if we can't use that against them." He aimed a wink at Natasha, who smirked at him, understanding. "Come on. We win this game, we are garranteed a spot in the playoffs."

Ten minutes later, he watched as they put his words into practice. From the opening kickoff, Hokun worked his way up to center field and Steve took over. Their first play was a little gem Bruce had developped just for Natasha. With the entire offensive line blocking right, faking a handoff on that side, only Steve and Natasha took off left, after a few well practiced steps and turn to the left. Steve blocked anyone that might have seen through the feint.

It worked like a charm. The field was wide open and the opposing safety had stupidly decided to blitz Steve, meaning Natasha had only one opponent to juke out before taking off for the endzone. Not that anyone was going to catch her from behind.

Bruce cheered with the rest of the crowd. They had some wind in their sails again, and he was going to keep it that way.

A quarter later, the score was still ten-three in favor of the Avengers, when Thor faltered. He and Sif had both gone to the same side, leaving only sophomore Daniels blocking on the right side, and the Warriors took full advantage. The guy was at their ten when Sif tripped him up.

Bruce held his breath, as the defense lined up to hold on first and goal. He forced himself to concentrate, trying to read the play ahead. He hated these situations.

They managed to hold for the first and the second downs. But on the third, the Warriors managed to punch it in.

Bruce sucked in a breath and glanced at the clock. Thirty seconds left. As the Warriors linned up for the conversion, he sought out Natasha on the bench, her elbows on her knees, sitting next to Clint.

"Nat? You're up."

"What?"

"Kick return. Come on. We need you."

"I've never..."

"Its easy. Catch the ball, run up field." Clint gave Bruce a glare, but the latter was firmly on his plan. She paused only for a second before giving a nod, and grabbing her helmet.

"Alright." Bruce quickly sent out Thor, Steve (who had almost not stopped playing all half, but was showing no signs of slowing down other than the sweat flowing in rivers off his face), Sif and Hokun, giving them quick instructions to block for Natasha and Natasha alone. He clenched his fists and watched.

* * *

Adrenaline pumped through his veins. They needed to score on this play, there was only a few seconds left in the game. Bruce had given the plan, and he was nervously looking behind him, at Natasha, who had never been in that particular position. He half expected to see nervousness under her facemask. But there was none. Only the calm calculation and a glint of determination in her eyes. He steeled himself for the start of the clock.

The kicker was running down the clock, clearly hoping for the tie. The horn sounded as his foot connected with the ball. He did not glance behind to see if Natasha had gotten the ball, only blocked the first attacker, tackling him, before looking up.

He saw her running, towards a group of attackers, and took off after her, not to catch but to block the three larger guys still in her way. He did not get there before they did, but was forced to watch as she tried to juke the first one out. He managed to get one hand on her, and in the flurry, her helmet went flying. But she still wasn't down.

He plowed into the two others just as Natasha wrenched herself free of the first. And she was gone, sprinting faster than he had ever seen her, straight for the end zone, and he knew no one else could catch her.

His ears finally opened again and he could hear the cheer of the crowd. He ran to the endzone, hoisting the tiny girl up, as the rest of the team piled in, cheering like no tomorrow.

They had won. They had taken on their toughest opponents and won.

It was hard to feel better than this.

He put Natasha down, just as Clint fought his way through the crowd to grab her. He smiled as his two friends kissed in the heat of the moment. The rest of the fans were now pouring out onto the field, and he worked his way to the edge of the crowd, clapping hands with most of the other players, looking for his girl.

She found him first. He only felt her jump onto him from the back, turning his face to meet hers with a kiss.

* * *

Natasha smirked at her boyfriend as he took her back into his arms. They were in the parking lot after the game, watching most of the people leave toward Tony's party.

"Don't ever scare me like that again."

"Like what. Almost losing the game?"

"No, dammit! Losing your helmet. Fuck, I think my life was shortened by at least ten years."

"Oh, please there was no one else up field."

"Nat..."

"Fine." She smiled as she kissed him. "Admit it. It was a sweet run."

"It was nothing short of spectacular."

"Thank you." She was still on a high. It wasn't something she had ever really experienced, this kind of huge adrenaline rush. Even now, twenty minutes and a shower after the game was over, she was still soaring, and she didn't really want to come down. She kissed Clint back a little harder, making him groan. She smiled against his lips and pressed herself right up against him, leaning against his truck, and feeling him react to her body.

"Nat..." he said softly, breaking the kiss.

"What?"

"What are you thinking?"

"Its not obvious?"

"It is. I'm just... Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Alright then. To my house?"

"Well, I'm sure as hell not going to do any of this at Tony's."

Clint nodded and they both got into the truck, her driving. Ever since the Homecoming incident, she had been thinking about Clint, and what it might mean do something about the feelings she had been suppressing. The ones that left a burning sensation in the pit of her stomach, the ones that had her thinking of him still wrapped in that towel. It felt good to finally act on it.

They made it up to his room, and she was silently thanking whatever deity still existed that both his foster parents were out. She was very lucky tonight, apparently.

She smiled against his lips, pulling his blue t-shirt over his head, and running her hands across his chest. For a young guy who had been on the bench for two weeks, he was still totally fit. She raised her arms so that he could take her shirt off too.

The contact of skin against skin was electrifying. It was not her first time (she did NOT want to think about that), but she had never experienced this... sheer arousal at another person. Being with him, touching him, kissing him, was different from anything she had ever experienced, she thought. Granted, she had never cared for someone as much as she cared for Clint.

She pushed him on the bed, and straddled him, working at his zipper. His eyes watched her, dark and smoldering. She knew all about his first time. He had told her about it the week after it happened, back in sophomore year. A little blond bimbette named Morse. She had been a senior at the time, clearly racking up a number of notches on her bedpost. Running out of seniors and juniors, she had turned to the sophomores and Clint had been one of them.

She forced herself to stop thinking about that bitch (as she was now refered to), instead focussing on freeing Clint from his pants and boxers. She had to take a little more time to get the garments off with his cast in the way, but soon enough he was lying naked on his bed. She might have drool a little bit, he looked so damn good. He reached for her, pulling her lips back to his for another searing kiss. She felt his hands float down her body, caressing her skin and making their way to her pants. He undid the button and zipper with one hand, his fingers playing with the edge of her panties.

She moaned a little at his touch.

"I love you, Nat." he said in her ear. Her breath caught in her throat. She could not believe he had said it. Sure, she knew it. But he had never said it. Neither of them had. He pulled back and she realised she had frozen at his words. "Nat?" he asked, his blue eyes searching hers. They were still dialated, still aroused. She kissed him softly, very different from the heated ones they had shared just a few seconds ago.

"Yeah. Just..." She took a deep breath, and pressed herself against him. "I love you too." And the best part was that she meant it.

* * *

PHEW. Have I mentioned that Clintasha is kinda my favorite? Yeah. It totally is.

Oh and I learnt AFTER writing this that kick return rules are different in the States. So apologies there, but I'm not changing it :)


	8. Chapter 8

AN: So the last chapter was kinda short. This one is kinda long. Also hats off to my favorite bard ;)

* * *

The high of the Warriors win lasted through most of the weekend, and even Steve felt actual joy from it. Not because they had one, although that was a huge bonus. No, because he had spotted Peggy in the stands after the game.

It had been a hard win. He had played very nearly every single play of the second half, meaning he had very little in the way of energy for Tony's post-game parties. But at the same time, he felt like it was one of the greatest wins of his football career so far.

By Monday, the whole school was buzzing with the knowledge the Avengers were going to the playoffs again this season. He fended off two more cheerleaders (when will they learn he was not interested in them and their manicures?) and managed to make it to the art room after school. This being their by week and because they had won such a crutial game, Fury had decided to cancle practice on Monday, giving the team a little break from their intense Schedule.

At least for Steve, there was really only one place to go. The group of students was the same as Wednesday afternoon, he noticed as he took his seat. She was there too. He wondered why he had never seen her before, in classes or in the hallways. She stood out, somehow.

Today, he decided to start on a bit of a project. First up, was his new favorite person. Natasha. He set about to sketching her in gear, in the middle of a run, celebrating her game winning touchdown, and smiling as she accepted his friendship. He tried to capture that danger that always seemed to float around her, as well as her fierce determination and incredible calm.

He had decided on this project for two reasons. One, he wanted something to present to his friends at the end of the season, win or lose, something that meant something. Since he did not have a lot of money, he had to keep it simple and cheap, and even if this was a bit stupid, he decided it would be enough for what he wanted to give. The second reason, was more personal. He wanted to prove to Peggy that he could draw someone's flaws as well as their strengths. But to capture a person, he first had to know them.

He absorbed himself in his work, allowing each of the individual sketches to build out of each other, making a collage like effect. When he looked up from his nearly finished project, he saw that the sun was setting outside the one window and all the other students had gone. Except Peggy.

She was watching him now, and he resolutely stared back. Do not get scared. Do not run away. She can't hurt you.

"Hello." he said, finally breaking the silence. She gave him a smile that reminded him of Natasha. Just a little bit dangerous.

"Its Steve, isn't it?"

"Yes. Steve Rogers." He held out a hand and watched as she considered him before shaking it.

"Peggy Carter."

"Pleasure to meet you. Officially."

"I thought you only came here on Wednesdays."

"Practice was cancelled." She gave a small nod, and looked down at his work.

"Interesting choice. Your girlfriend?"

"No. Just a friend. She's the newest on the team."

"I see. But this is for her?"

"Yeah, End of season presents." She nodded again, her dark eyes fixed on his. He swallowed nervously as he felt himself being X-rayed. "What are you working on?" he said, glancing over at her painting. His breath caught in his throat.

It was a drawing of a little girl, probably only a year old. She had a bright smile, though no teeth, and her eyes were dark brown, copper ringlets curing around her chubby face. She was sitting on a carpet, looking up at him and he felt his heart go out to her, even if it was only a painting.

"Its nothing. Just thoughts."

"Its beautiful." he said truthfully. "Who is she?"

"No one." He glanced back at Peggy and saw her clenched fists. He back away slowly, suddenly feeling like a rabbit in a trap again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude."

"Its alright." she said, though he got the distinct feeling things were far from alright. Peggy grabbed the painting and was about to leave the room when his voice came back.

"Wait, Peggy!" She turned, her glare very nearly making him lose his nerve. "I was wondering, if you want, maybe we could meet up sometime?" As soon as the words had left his mouth he knew they had come out all wrong.

"I don't think so." she said, before disappearing from his sight.

* * *

_Everything was burning around him. Heat was invading every single one of his senses. Natasha was screaming, he could hear her. She never screamed, but he could not ponder on how weird it was, or how chilling a sound it was. He was running furiously through the rooms. First a kitchen, and a living room. Nothing, and still he could hear her. Her voice screaming at the top of her lungs. It was from above. He found a staircase, and ran up, taking them two by two. The scream stopped. He froze in fear, the silence was a hundred times worse than the screaming._

_"Natasha!" he yelled, but nothing came, looking in every room. The building was crumbling around him. He had no idea how he would get out._

_And then he found her, pinned under a large beam. Her red hair was reflecting the firelight, and her eyes were closed._

_"Natasha! Natasha!" He said hurrying to her side, and starting to push the beam off her. Blood was soaking her shirt, and she still did not respond. He forced all his strength into lifting the beam. It was so heavy. He pushed harder, summoning super human strength, and managed to lift the beam off her._

_"Natasha, please wake up!" She didn't. Her front was soaked with blood, her skin blackened when the fire had taken her. He took her into his arms, determined to get her out, to get her help._

_The stairs were gone. There was just a black void, with flames licking at the sides. He took a deep breath, and tightened his grip on the girl in his arms. "I love you." He said softly, taking a few steps back, and leaping into the hole_

He woke up with a start. A thin layer of cold sweat covered his half naked body, and the cold was suddenly gripping. He struggled to remember where he was, when he felt something move slowly, sleepily, next to him. He caught sight of the tangle of red hair, breathed a sigh of relief. He was alright. And she was alright, safe, right here next to him.

If it weren't for his nightmare, Clint would have loved waking up like this. With Natasha still curled up next to him, not a cold spot where she had been all night. She had pulled on his blue shirt sometime time in the night, probably from the cold. She was always cold, he found, though she rarely admitted to it. BUt underneath that, she was still naked. And he smiled as the thoughts of last Friday night, and every night since then chased away his nightmare.

The first time had been a little hesitant. Probably just trying to get used to the idea of being together. Every time since then, they had gotten more in sync. Learning the little things about each other, that they could not have guessed before touching had been allowed. Like how she always gasped when he sucked the skin under her ear, or kissed her bellybutton. Like how her body, that was usually so cold, felt like it was burning as soon as he was in her. And then there was the way she said I love you.

He had said it because it was the only thing going through his mind. He had not been expecting her to say it back, and he wondered if she thought he was being honest. He knew he was, and deep down, he knew she was too.

"Good morning" she said softly, tightening her arm around him and stretching like a cat.

"Good morning. How did you sleep?"

"Good enough." She said, moving away from him, and out of bed. His body whined at the loss of contact with her, but he forced himself into a sitting position, and watched as she disappeared silently down the hall to the bathroom with clean clothes in one hand and a toothbrush in the other. He knew his foster parents would still be asleep and he was thankful he had his own bathroom too.

He waited until she was back, before hobbling down, not even bothering with his crutches. After locking the door, he stared at his reflection for a long time. Anyone could see that the night had not been kind. For a guy who had just gotten laid, he looked pretty damn haggard. True, his eyes were shinning and there was a smile on his lips at the thought of them together. But his eyes had dark circles under them, and his skin was a little pale. He shrugged and turned on the shower before stripping away his pyjama pants.

Finally clean and dressed, he made it back to his room where Natasha was reading Hamlet on the bed. He laid down next to her, kissing her neck.

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Distracting me."

"I'm not. You can still read it."

"Not with your big head in the way." He chuckled against her skin. "Shouldn't you be reading this too?"

"I hate Shakespeare."

"Clint, you're going to flunk out." He sighed. She was right.

"Alright, where are we?" He groaned before taking the book from her hands.

"Act Three, Scene four. Hamlet and Gertrude are talking, he's trying to force a confession out of her, guilt about marrying her husband's brother."

"Why, does she know about the uncle Claude killing his brother?"

"Its not really clear." He sighed.

"Why can't it be clear. The whole thing would be a hell of a lot shorter if everything was clear."

"The world's not black and white Clint. Sometimes things are not clear." He glanced at her, and caught a quick look about the seriousness of her expression. He gave her a nod before reading.

"_Ecstasy! _  
_ My pulse, as yours, doth temperately keep time, _  
_ And makes as healthful music: it is not madness _  
_ That I have utter'd: bring me to the test, _  
_ And I the matter will re-word; which madness _  
_ Would gambol from. Mother, for love of grace, _  
_ Lay not that mattering unction to your soul, _  
_ That not your trespass, but my madness speaks: _  
_ It will but skin and film the ulcerous place, _  
_ Whilst rank corruption, mining all within, _  
_ Infects unseen. Confess yourself to heaven; _  
_ Repent what's past; avoid what is to come; _  
_ And do not spread the compost on the weeds, _  
_ To make them ranker. Forgive me this my virtue; _  
_ For in the fatness of these pursy times _  
_ Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg, _  
_ Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good._

"Ok, well, what does that even mean." he said, glaring at her.

"Try a guess. Take what you know and what you understand to make sense of what you don't." She said, a smile on her lips. He stared at the words a little while longer, ignoring the ones he did not understand.

"Ok, well, he's saying he is not crazy. And he's asking her to confess?" Natasha nodded.

"Keep going."

"What is compost doing in there? Did they have compost back them" She chuckled and took the book from his hands.

"Its a metaphor. Spreading compost on weeds would help them grow, or in Gertrude's case, sleeping with Claudius again would make her sins even bigger."

"So he doesn't want his mother to sleep with his uncle slash father?"

"Exactly. Through all that Hamlet has gone through, he still cares for his mother and doesn't want to lose her or condemn her soul."

"Still makes him a whiney bitch."

"Imagine being in his shoes. That your uncle had killed your dad and married your mom. Could you just sit and do nothing?" CLint sighed.

"No. I guess not." She smirked at him.

"Come on. We are going to be late for school." She said, pulling him to his feet. He was a little thankful that his parents had died a long time ago. If Hamlet was to be believed it was a lot less trouble.

* * *

Tony felt completely desperate asking for the help of the two people in the world least likely to actually help with his problem.

"What can I do? She doesn't like me." Tony was moaning about Pepper and only Steve and Thor (against his will) had been blackmailed into joinning the pity party. They were at a diner that specialized in greasy almost food, perfect for the subject of discussion.

"I don't know. How would I know? I've never had a girl mad at me." Steve said, digging into a plate of chili fries, coated in yellow cheese. Tony turned to Thor, who had just taken a large bite of burger, a pickle sliding out and falling back on his plate. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment.

"When Jane was angry at me, when we first met, I I spent half an hour coming clean with her, telling her almost everything about me, things not even you guys know. She didn't warm to me right away. But she wasn't mad anymore?"

"So I have to pin her down and tell her everything about me?"

"You are not using violence." Steve said, a little bit of cheese on his chin.

"Ok... how about an intervention. Like we did for Clint and Natasha."

"Wouldn't work. She doesn't want to listen to you." Steve answered.

"Ok, well I'm open to suggestions."

"Send her flowers." Steve suggested.

"Did it last year. She sent them back."

"Chocolates?"

"She hates chocolate."

"What girl hates chocolate?"

They sat in silence for a long while, Tony banging his head on his table.

"She is never going to like me."

"I dunno. She went to Homecoming with you. How did that go? Before you screwed it up."

Tony looked up a little confused.

"It... It was actually going really well. We were talking, and dancing... It was going really well. And then, I fucked up and left her there."

"Ok." Steve said finally, looking a little determined. "You just need to remind her of that. That you guys connected, and were actually having fun."

"How?" Steve stopped and slumped. But now it was Thor's turn.

"Dance."

"What?"

"Dance!"

"Thor, did you get Tourettes or something."

"No, you need to dance with her again!"

"You make no sense. How will dancing get her back"

"Maybe it will remind her that she had been having fun. That she had been liking you."

"That is cheesy beyond all hell." Tony said, with a small grimace.

"But it might work."

"How do I get her to dance with me again? Throw a party at my house, she would have to come, but thats no garranty that she will dance with me. At all."

"No, you're right. It needs to be more... Intimate." Thor said with a thoughtful look.

"Intimate as in naked? Cause I think that will be harder to pull off." Tony said.

"Intimate as in private. Personal."

"Ok, so basic algebra." Tony said, pulling out a white board marker and shoving all their plates to the side. He then started writing directly on the table.

"Tony, what the hell..."

"Oh, relax I do it all the time. It comes right off." He said as he scribbled. First, he wrote Pepper, Music, Privacy and added plus signs between each word. Then, at the end placed an equal sign and added the word Dancing.

"Ok. So in theory. Music, plus privacy, plus Pepper, in a relatively good mood, might equal some dancing, which according to Captain Womanizer here equals some memories of a good time, which might bring around a second shot." He added the last details to his formula. Thor glanced at Tony's scribbles.

"Start easy. What kind of music."

"Slow." Steve said right away. "Obviously."

"Yeah. I'm trying to think about what song was playing, back at the dance..." He was silent for a moment, his eyes far away. "Shit I don't know. It wasn't exactly up my alley!"

"That's ok. Steve, you can take care of that." Thor said, with a small smile.

"Why me?"

"Because for some odd reason, you have Sinatra and Swift on your Ipod. You probably can come up with something that is not hard rock." Steve blushed and nodded.

"I like Taylor Swift. She has some good stuff." Tony glared at him.

"I officially do not know you any more."

"Tony, you need him to get you a song. Unless you want to ask Pepper to dance to Thunderstrike." Tony winced.

"Alright. But no Taylor Swift. Understood?" Steve nodded. "Next?"

"Location." This time it was Steve that spoke, now seeing where Thor was going. "We need somewhere non-threatening, that will not scare her off, but that will still afford some privacy. The more the better."

"Ok, I think I can do that." Tony said. "What if I rent out a ball room and..."

"Smaller." Steve said.

"How about my place?" Thor said. "I can convince my parents to leave the house for a night. Its small, and non threatening. Neutral territory."

"Ok, but can I decorate?" Tony said, almost begging. "Flowers, no, roses! And maybe some mood lighting..."

"Ok, just try and keep it simple." Thor said with a mischevious grin.

"And what about Pepper?" Steve said suddenly. "No point in getting it all together without her."

"I will talk to Pepper." Thor said simply.

"You are going to talk to Pepper." Tony said, his voice completely incredulous.

"Yes."

"How?"

"Not completely sure. But she will be there. Just name the time."

"Seven o'clock. Friday night, its by week, we don't have a game or practice."

"Ok. Seven, Friday. And BREAK!"

* * *

Bruce felt himself grin. Now garranteed a spot in the playoffs, the team was doing even better than predicted. He had adjusted the offense to Natasha's new style, and they were taking to it well. But that was not why he was smiling. No, he was smiling, because he was actually talking with Betty Ross.

He was utterly amazed at how easily it had become to talk to her. She followed his train of thought so easily, it was like she was reading his mind. The conversation flowed between them, and his favorite part of the day was saying hi to her in homeroom. It was now Tuesday morning and he had a new plan to talk to her even more.

So far, he had learned that she had lived in eight different countries so far, missed the hell out of her mother who had died a few years back from cancer, spurning her to study biology at the cellular level. He told her about his experiments with gene analysis, and she took to it with gusto. Now he was about to propose something really out there.

"Hey!" She said, sitting in her usual spot and greeting him with a bright smile that made him feel very warm inside.

"Hi! I have a question for you." He had been considering it all weekend. Something to get to know her better, an activity to do together.

"I have one for you too." She said with a smile, setting her things down and taking out a binder.

"You first."

"Ok, well, have you heard about Thor's little dinner party on Friday?"

"You mean Tony's attempt to win Pepper back." Tony had called him last night and coerced him into going, using every card he had. "Yeah, he asked me to come, he said he needs a science bro."

"Well, Pepper asked me to come. For moral support, you know." She said, a nervous blush filling her cheeks. "Would you like to be my date?"

His heart nearly stopped beating. He felt his mouth go slack and tried to get himself to do something, but his body was no longer cooperating. Silence filled the air between them for three whole seconds before she began rambling.

"I know Pepper wants me to get there with her, but we can meet up there, and I don't mean that we have to go as like a couple, we can just goes as friends, but..."

"Betty, I would love to." Bruce said, finally finding his vocal chords. She looked very relieved, and blushed again.

"You said you had a question too?" He struggled to remember what his question was for several seconds, probably looking like an idiot in the meantime.

"Yes! I know you're new, but would you like to work on something for the Science Fair together? Its a long way off, but I bet we could put something together that would beat Tony this year, and that is saying something." He watched her grin back at him.

"What kind of project do you have in mind?"

"Ever try to splice genomes together to get a new species?" He asked.

"Are you asking me to get naughty with genetics?" The blush that came was fast and hot, over his entire body. She laughed, though.

"We can splice as friends?" His voice was squeaky even to his ears.

"I think that is a fantastic idea, and I can't think of a better person to do it with." She said.

"Yeah. What exactly were you thinking of splicing?"

"Plants would be the easiest. I was considering working with berry plants, just so that it would have a tasting aspect to it?"

"What is your favorite berry?"

"Umm... Blueberry?"

"Oh yummy. I like strawberries best." They kept on talking, discussing which fruit to splice and and how the genetic work might be done. Bruce admitted to using Tony's lab on more than one occasion, sneaking certain materials out when he used them for the science fair last year. She smiled and agreed to help, and they made a plan to meet up after school and get started, just as the teacher called for attention.

He could not believe his luck. He not only had a science fair partner that may just be blue ribbon material, a new friend that totally got him, but also a girl that he was seriously interested in. So much so, he had a date to Thor's celebration. He certainly not foreseen any of this when the year started. Then again, the universe had a funny way of not playing fair.

* * *

Thor glanced nervously up and down the hallway. Jane was talking with Pepper and Thor had told her the entire plan. She had been sworn to secrecy, but agreed to help Thor out, deciding there was no way he could do it on his own.

"Hey honey." he said, pecking Jane's cheek quickly. "Hi Pepper, how are you?"

"Alright. You two are dressing up for Halloween right?"

"Yes, we have some ideas for costumes too. I hope you will be saving the blue ribbons for us."

"What are you going as, Tarzan and Jane?"

"Hahaha. No, its a secret for now. But I was actually wondering if you were busy this Friday around seven." Thor said, slipping his hand into Jane's.

"I have a meeting with the student council at four and I need to get the flyers for the costume contest to the printers before six, but by seven I think I should be free."

"I was wondering if you wanted to come to my house. I'm having a little get together. You know, to celebrate the fact the Avengers are for sure going to the playoffs."

"A party?"

"Not what you might think. Just some close friends, not a huge bender. Dinner, maybe a movie or some other form of enterntainement." Thor said evasively. Pepper's eyes narrowed, as she glanced from Jane to Thor.

"This has nothing to do with Tony does it?" He was eternally grateful Jane took control.

"Tony will be there, but its not about him. And I think I agree with Natasha. He has changed. Did she tell you how he forced her and Clint to talk?"

"I'm not being forced to talk to Tony." Pepper said, hitching her bag on her shoulder and turning on her heel.

"Wait Pepper!" Thor said. For once, he used his massive size off the football field, and blocked her way, filling up the entire doorframe.

"Move Thor." she growled, glaring at him, and he winced but held his ground.

"Please, come on Friday. Just talking. I'll be there the whole time if you want. With Jane, hell Clint and Natasha can come too. He really is sorry. He was trying to take care of his friends, I know you can appreciate that. He just wants to make it up to you."

Pepper glared at him.

"He abandoned me."

"Yes. He did. And he did it for a good reason. You're saying that if Natasha, or Jane, or Betty needed you, you would not have left him to take care of them?"

"I would have let him know, at least!" Pepper screetched.

"Just give him a chance. He has never really done a relationship, Pepper, but he wants to for you. And he is still Tony, that means he is scatterbrained sometimes. If he's an ass, get Natasha to kick his ass, I know it would be her pleasure. But he does care about you, and I know you know that too."

Pepper stared at him for a long minute, and Thor considered running for safety about six times before she spoke. When she did, though, it was softly.

"Ok. But you guys will be there. I don't want to get hurt again."

Jane threw her arms around her friend, shrieking in happiness, and saying something about dresses that Thor did not follow in the slightest. All he knew was that he had succeeded. Mission Woo Pepper was back in business.

* * *

Natasha glared at her friends, ready to kick their asses into next week. Granted it was already Thursday.

"You want me to do what?"

"Come to Thor's house. A small get together, supper and talking. Please?" Jane begged. Betty smiled.

"You might get to kick Tony's ass."

"Please, I want to go, but not without back up." Pepper said, begging with her eyes.

"Bring Clint!"

"Stop it both of you. But I doubt Clint will come."

"Oh, come on, you just say 'Clint get your ass here', and he is there."

"Clint doesn't do everything I say."

"Whatever then, come alone." Natasha sighed and glanced at the faces of the two girls, clearly begging.

"Fine. I'll be there."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"I call dibs on Tony if he is an ass though."

"Alright, meet us for shopping after school!" Betty said with a smile.

"Shopping?"

"Yeah, just cause its not a school thing, doesn't mean we can't have fun and dress up for it!"

"I have football practice!"

"Damn you and your weird fascination with hitting boys. Ok, when is that done?"

"Six."

"Ok, we will meet you in the school parking lot as soon as practice is done, and we will bring you food."

"Fine, just give me a few minutes to shower after practice." Natasha said reluctantly.

Pepper said, running off to class. Natasha sighed, and mentally kicked her self for saying yes.

Several hours later, Natasha was trying hard not to admit she was having fun. Pepper, Betty, Jane and herself were at a small dress boutique downtown, and being that it was seven in the evening on a Thursday, no one else was in the shop.

Between the four of them, they had tried on almost every single dress in the store. A pile of the disqualified ones was heaping one chair, and the sales lady, a lovely older woman by the name of Martha was handing them new selections.

"I dunno, I really liked the red one." Natasha said, hesitantly accepting a black one with silver sparkles on it. She had made a very firm, no cleavage, no back rule, and had point-blank refused to try on anything that might show her scars. She was not ready for her friends to know about that secret. It was more than enough that Clint knew. Her legs on the other hand, her friends had drooled over for several minutes.

"Come on, Natasha, you only get to dress up, like, once a year!" Jane said, holding a pink number up to herself in the mirror.

"Thank God" she muttered, closing the changeroom door.

"Just imagine the look on Clint's face." Betty said. Natasha grinned in the privacy of her change room, thinking about the look on Clint's face, if he saw her like this. Eyes glassy, mouth slack, utter and completely awe. That might be worth it. She wiggled into the dress, before opening the changeroom door.

"Now that one is a winner, honey." Martha said with a smile. Pepper, and Jane nodded.

Natasha turned to the mirror, and admired the look. The dress was black and skin tight, leaving not a whole lot to the imagination, and yet had a close neckline and no sleeves. With some nice jewellery, it might be perfect.

"Alright. This one." She said, smiling and sitting in the free chair to watch her friends model their selections.

Betty ended up going with the raspberry color one, a long dress that flowed elegantly to the floor. It was strapless and rhinestones adorned the bodice, making her sparkle.

"Is Bruce coming to this thing?" Natasha asked suddenly.

"Yeah. Tony asked him, something about needing a science bro."

"Are you two official yet? You so ought to be." Jane said from her change room.

"No. We haven't talked about it. But I really like him. We're doing a project for the science fair together."

"Aww, a romance in the science lab!" Pepper said, glee in her voice.

"Stop it." Betty said, blushing. Jane came out of her changeroom, and Betty squealed. The dress was a dark forest green, with a sweetheart neckline decorated with rhinestones. It fell to her knees, and was fitted through her hourglass shape.

"That looks great on you, Jane." Natasha said, smiling from the accessories rack.

"Are you kidding, its perfect for you." Pepper said.

"Alright, please make your choice Pepper, I want to get home."

"Oh relax, Natasha. What's the matter, you not having fun?"

"No, I am. I'm just tired from practice." Natasha said distracted, as she held up a large gold barette, shapped like a rose. It was so beautiful. Too perfect for her, she thought suddenly. She was putting it back, when Betty appeared at her side.

"That would go great with your dress." she said.

"No. Its too pretty."

"No such thing." Betty said, before turning back to the others. Natasha stared at the rose a little longer, before putting it with her dress.

"Alright I pick this one." Pepper announced. She held up a simple lace black dress with a gold imprint. It had three quarter length sleeves, and a fitted waist, which she had picked a large belt out to go with.

"Not very fancy, Pepper." Jane said, emerging from a changeroom in her jeans, her selection over her arm.

"Its fine. Its nice, but conservative. Exactly the message I want to send."

"You really are going to give him a chance."

"I want to." Pepper said, putting her purchases on the counter so Martha could ring them up. "I guess he's kinda grown on me. A little."

Natasha could hardly believe it.

Much later, Clint was grumbling as she pulled on pyjamas and crawled into bed next to him.

"Tony and Thor just expect me to come?"

"Pepper expects me to come too. Took me dress shopping tonight."

"Really. Trust Tony to take things way too far. This is ridiculous."

"Pepper is kinda ridiculous too. With the way she handles everything. I mean they are opposite, but they are kinda similar too." She felt Clint chuckle.

"Yeah. I guess he has changed. I mean, he was there for me, during the whole Homecoming mess."

"He was. And his company has completely stopped weapons production. I mean, thousands of people are out of jobs now, but he wanted to save people and he has?"

"I guess. Enough talk about Tony."

"Agreed."

They were silent for a while, and Natasha thought he had fallen asleep when he spoke again.

"Nat?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you still think about the future?"

"Sometimes. But I like the present better."

* * *

Hmm, can anyone say, par-tay? So little get together, with all our favorites! Will Tony win Pepper back (finally)? What about Bruce and Betty, will they actual admit they are together? Sign up and find out! Review and find out faster!


	9. Chapter 9

AN: I don't know if y'all noticed, but I'm sticking to the same order and format for each chapter. Which meant this chapter was a bitch to write and as a result has a hell of a lot of overlap. Please forgive me.

* * *

Everything had been carefully prepared, even with the short notice. Tony and Thor had decorated the large living room, with several dozen roses and red ribbons to match. Tony had gotten a large number of electric candles (something about real ones being a fire hazard and he wanted to avoid anything that could go wrong) and placed them around the room, giving it a romantic feel. Steve had spent most of his free time going through four iTunes libraries in search of appropriate songs to set the mood. And Tony had even gotten tailored suits for all the boys, Bruce and Clint included.

He, Thor, Bruce and Tony, all had black suits that had been perfectly cut to each of them, while Clint had steadfastly refused to wear the jacket. He was just in his pearl grey button down shirt, open collar. Each had a colorful dress shirt of their own, though Tony was the only one to wear a tie, arguing that if he had to do it for stinking board meetings, he damn well better do it for Pepper. With Thor in red, Bruce in green and himself in blue, Steve thought they looked a bit like Lego blocks together.

Now all standing in the living room, Steve felt exceedingly lonely. He had not even considered the idea of a date, until now, standing there waiting for the girls. He always went stag to dances and suppers, but Bruce and Clint always had too. Thor and Tony would come alone most of the time, even if they didn't leave alone. Now he was the only one without a date.

He wondered if Peggy would have said yes. Something told him she would have turned him down anyway, and that made him feel a little better. He was now the ninth wheel and it was a strange feeling. Instead of worrying about his cuffs and tie, he busied himself with the laptop Tony had connected to some speakers, adding some finishing touches to the playlist he had prepared.

Tony was pacing nervously, his brow creased in unusual concentration. Clint was sitting in a chair with a slightly annoyed look on his face, Thor right next to him, a small smile playing on his lips. Bruce was rubbing his hands nervously too, but there was excitement in his eyes too.

The door bell rang and each of the boys rose and turned.

Natasha, Jane, Betty and Pepper filed slowly through the door, and smiled at them. They all looked so nice, all dressed up in bright colors. Even if Natasha in black looked very beautiful with a large gold rose in her red curls.

"Hi. Welcome! Hello. Umm, come in?" Tony said, his nervousness showing on his face. Pepper gave him a careful look, before following him to the dinning room. The rest followed Steve bringing up the rear.

They had ordered in, from some high end place Tony had called. The place had even sent waiters when they had found out it was for Tony Stark. Thor pulled out a chair for Jane, and Tony hurried to follow suit. Bruce and Betty exchanged a small secret smile between them that made Steve suddenly a little envious as they sat down. Natasha, on the other hand, pulled out a chair for Clint, and took his crutches away before sitting down between him and Steve, whispering something in his ear, making him smirk. Steve sat down at the head of the table, as three waiters entered with a tray of salads.

Conversation broke off quickly, Pepper making Tony sweat a little from what Steve could see. Natasha made an effort to talk to him too, about football mostly, and Betty and Bruce were speaking in biology tongues, although Steve was able to figure out they were working on a science fair entry together.

Steve drifted into his thoughts as he ate the chicken and rice that was served. He wondered if Peggy would have enjoyed a meal like this, fancy waiters and all. He wasn't that fond of it, really, he was more of an at home meal kind of guy. The kind of meal he could cook himself, just for her. He wondered if Peggy would go for that. She seemed so tough, so hard to impress. And yet there was something familiar about her. Maybe it was that she was always alone.

That way they made it through the salad and the main course, without major incident. That was when Tony gave him the signal, a wink in his direction. He cleared his throat.

"For your entertainment we have some music and possible dancing as well tonight." he said clearly, before standing and leading the way back to the living room, pressing play quickly on his laptop. The upbeat motion of Twelve O'clock Rock quickly filled the room. This was his job, since he was dateless. He had to monitor the mood of the room, especially Tony and Pepper, and the songs that were playing to make sure nothing bad happened.

He had selected upbeat tunes to keep the mood light and fun, at least for the beginning. They could have their slow romantic dances at the end, he reasoned, if the mood allowed. Thor led Jane out first, swinging her into a jive, and Bruce and Betty followed, albeit much more shyly, but with grins on their faces as they moved.

He saw Pepper glare at Tony and gulped, wondering if this whole thing had been for nothing. It took the first half of the song, but Pepper finally put her hand in Tony's and they both waltzed out onto the floor. Natasha and Clint were still sitting, conversing in quiet voices, but watching the interactions of the floor. Steve shot them a grin as he sat down next to them.

"So far, so good. I mean, she hasn't punched him yet." Natasha said quietly.

"Have you been teaching her to do that?" Clint asked, warily. Natasha grinned

"Not teaching. More planting the idea."

"You are sneaky."

"I like to think so." she sighed, watching the couples jive around, Tony spinning Pepper expertly around. "Still. Best take advantage. Steve you want to dance?"

Steve stared at her, stunned. Clint gave him a wink. "Ummm..."

"Come on, my date is gimped. I came here to see Tony get sucker punched and I don't think that is going to happen. Please don't make me waste the whole evening."

"Alright." He said nervously, putting his hand in hers.

She led him onto the floor, leaving Clint watching the couples. He nervously waited, not really sure what he was supposed to do, watching Thor and Tony to try and figure out what to do. Natasha gave him a glance.

"Do you know how to dance?"

"Not really."

"Just follow the beat. You'll do fine" She said as she started to move, holding his hands. She led him through the first song, and he was starting to get the hang of it as the second one came along. He couldn't help the grin on his face as his feet started to move on their own. He was having a little bit of fun.

Halfway through the third, he spotted trouble. Pepper was throwing glares at Tony, who was looking like he was about to panic. He leaned close to Natasha and whispered.

"I have an intervention to do, one sec."

He walked straight over to Pepper and asked quickly "Can I cut in?"

"Yes, please" She said without hesitation, grabbing his hands and leading him around the dance floor. Another song was coming on, a little slower, and he wanted to get to the computer to change it, but Pepper held him fast.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly, as he copied Thor and put a hand on her waist. She placed her free hand on his shoulder and followed as he began to revolve slowly on one spot.

"Yes. No. I don't know."

"Those are the three answers Pepper."

"He's just... Tony."

"Yes, he is."

"He can be really annoying and persistent and stupid sometimes."

"I agree, but Pepper..."

"And sometimes I really want to sucker punch him, like Natasha did Clint. Maybe that would knock some sense into him."

"Pepper." She huffed and glared at him. He was reminded of the way Peggy glared at him, but Pepper did not want to make him run and hide. "Why did you come tonight?"

"I don't know. I just thought... maybe he might change..." She suddenly looked like she was about to cry and Steve was a second away from panicking. He glanced at Tony, who was sitting alone at the table, watching them anxiously.

"I know three things for sure Pepper. One is that Tony will never change. Two, is that he has." she glared at him again, her eyes shinning. "And three is that, you would not have come tonight, or gone with him to homecoming, if you did not, on some level, care for him too." She stayed silent for a moment and Steve wondered if he had just screwed things up more.

"That makes no sense Steve. You know that."

"Yeah. But its true. He is still Tony. He is still a billionaire, and an ass, and a guy. But he has changed, and I know that you have seen it too. For one thing, he hasn't slept with anyone this year so far, maybe not even since June, at least none that he has bragged about. And there is the whole changing Stark Industries. But you are the biggest change in his life."

"Me?"

"Tony has worked hard to get a lot of girls. But I have never seen Tony work this hard for one girl. The old Tony would not have thrown this party, just to get one girl." They turned slowly once more as the song ended. She glanced back at Tony, before leaving Steve and going back to the poor guy she had left.

Without warning, she wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him on the lips. Steve stared in shock at her for several seconds, they all did. Even Tony looked completely surprised. Thor cheering was what probably broke them apart, but Steve could not help but grin. Maybe he had done something right for a girl.

The couples were off, being with each other, and suddenly he was thinking about Peggy again. He wondered if she would have liked dancing. With him, more specifically. Not that she would have said yes, if he would have asked. But he enjoyed the thought, of dancing with her. She was probably a great dancer.

It was strange how his thoughts kept coming back to Peggy. The strange closed off girl that looked like she could kick his ass from art class. Who would have thought.

* * *

Clint wasn't particularly happy about this whole plan. He was less happy when he found out about the dancing, and downright grumpy when Tony stuffed him into a pearl grey dress shirt and black dress pants. At least he had avoided the tie his friend had threatened to strangle him with.

But Natasha had somehow made it worth the whole ball of hell.

First, it was how she looked. Any other girl might have looked nice in what she wore, but Natasha looked downright gorgeous. The tight fit of the dress, the beautiful rose in her hair, the miles and miles her legs seemed to go on for. She just gave him a smirk as he watched her come in and he knew that he had a shit-eating grin on his face. She was just that beautiful.

Then it was the way that she took care of him, not in a way that babied him, but in a way that he knew she would bash his skull in if he refused. She was the one pulling a chair out for him, and putting his crutches in the corner. If he didn't have the stupid broken ankle, he might have been able to treat her right, like Thor and Tony. It was nice to know she was not afraid of taking care of him once in a while either.

They talked quietly during the meal, occasionally including Steve, who seemed off in his own world most of the time. They talked about football, and Shakespeare (she explained the whole of Act Three to him, and thank god because they had a quiz on it on Monday), and Pepper and Tony. They took sneaky glances down the table to see if it was going well.

Finally it was the dancing. The part he had been rather firm about refusing to do. To Tony, Thor and Steve, he had point blank refused to dance. He had been adamant. And the first time Natasha asked him, he said no.

Steve sat down next to them, now that the music was taken care of, and Natasha shot him a glare, before asking Steve to dance. Clint assured the Captain with a wink. As if Steve had any shot with Natasha. He was not the jealous kind of guy.

But watching them out dancing, smiling, having fun, might have set him on edge a little. She was actually laughing at one point, when Steve dipped her. She never laughed with anyone but him. He wished he could punch Steve, but then realized it was his own damn fault for not dancing with her in the first place. It was Homecoming all over again, only this time, he had a feeling punching Steve out would hurt him a lot more. He waited until Steve excused himself, and wandered away from her, before hobbling out onto the floor and taking his spot.

She seemed a little surprised at first, but took his hand with one of hers and placed the other on his neck. The music slowed down and he made a mental note to thank Steve, rather than punch him. Slow would be much easier to dance to, not only with the cast, but with his lack of experience.

"I thought you didn't dance."

"I don't."

"Then what are we doing?"

"Dancing." She gave him a playful glare.

"You are a confusing guy."

"Shakespeare was confusing. I make perfect sense."

"Whatever Romeo."

"Hey. Now that guy was a whiney bitch." She chuckled, before leaning her head on his chest. He sighed a little, holding her close. It was kind of awesome, this whole having a girlfriend thing. Especially when it was Natasha.

"You look gorgeous by the way."

"Thanks."

"I like the rose." He felt her tense a little under his hands.

"Its too pretty for me." He smirked.

"Its perfect for you." He whispered into her hair, kissing her temple. She flinched a little and backed up enough to look him in the eyes. She was glaring, at him, but he held her gaze.

"How'd you figure."

"Roses are perfect for you. Like a metaphor. You are beautiful, and sexy. And just a little bit dangerous. Roses have thorns don't they?" She kept glaring.

"I'm not perfect."

"Neither are they, they just look like it." She smirked at him, setting her head back on his chest. "If Shakespeare ever wrote about you, I think he would compare you to a rose."

"And you would be the village idiot."

"Nah. I'm the brilliant loser that got extremely lucky."

"You're many things, Barton. But a loser is not one of them." He could not help the smile that spread across his face.

There was a distraction then. Pepper, striding across the room to a dejected looking Tony, and kissing him. Clint could hardly believe it.

"Well. That is not what I thought would happen, but I guess, its a decent turn of events." Natasha said, before clapping along with the rest of them.

* * *

Tony swallowed hard, as Pepper sat down next to him. Her gaze was still a little chilly, but she had come. She had agreed to this whole shindig, and he had thought of almost everything. Including conversation topics.

"You look fantastic Pepper."

"Thank you." she said.

"So, umm, how's the Halloween costume contest going? I heard some of the prizes were really good."

"You want to talk shop, Stark?" he gulped.

"As good a place to start as any?" She looked at him, a calculating look in her blue, blue eyes.

"We have a few prizes. Will you be dressing up?"

"Yeah. I have a few ideas. But I was wondering if you could include one more prize. On behalf of Stark Industries."

"What would that be?"

"A special limo service, for prom night. And you can include that prize in any other upcoming events." Her glare made his insides freeze.

"You think just throwing money my way, or in this case, into the student council will make things better?"

"No. But I consider it a shame that people don't get the opportunity to go to prom in limos. Its part of the experience. I just want to share it with those that might not be able to." She was calculating him again.

"Thank you, in that case."

"So, uh, what are you dressing up as?"

"Marilyn Munroe." He suddenly coughed hard as a piece of chicken almost made it to his esophagus without being chewed.

"You're kidding? That will be awesome!" he said, a large smile on his face.

"To be seen. What are you going as?"

"That is a surprise. But it will be good." He took another bite of chicken and swallowed it nervously. "How am I doing so far?"

"Not as bad as I thought you would be." Well, that was good.

"I wanted to thank you too. For coming to all the games, I know you are really busy, but its nice to have fans out there."

"I don't go to the games to see you, Stark."

"But I see you. And that does mean something."

"What am I, a Lucky Charm?"

"No! No, I mean, it just is nice to see you there. Even if you're there to see the team as a whole, or someone else on the team, whatever, I just mean..." He stopped, trying to get his train of thought back, when he saw her smirk.

"I go, because I support our school. And by extension our football team, which happens to include you."

"Fair enough. I'm sorry." The silence filled the air for a few seconds, but surprisingly, Pepper picked it up before he could.

"So, tell me about your parents." He froze, a forkful of rice halfway to his mouth.

"My parents?"

"Yeah, what were they like? I mean I saw most of the news about them, and all, but what were they like when you were little?"

"Ummm..." Tell her things no one else knows, Thor had said. He put his fork down and braced himself, digging up things that he had not thought about in years. He glanced at the others, but they were all engrossed in their own little worlds, not paying attention to him.

"My mom was great. She was brilliant, in fact. She was the only one who could have wrangled my dad out of his workshop. And she was always trying to get me to be normal. Or as normal as a billionaire weapons industry heir was supposed to be. She taught me things that she thought I should know, not so that I could use them, but just so I could know them. Like all the capitals in Europe. Or how to play the piano."

"You can play the piano?"

"Not really well, anymore. I was always more interested by what my dad did. I love watching him work on something, even if he hated having me in his workshop. Or around, most of the time. He never really had time. But he did make me want to be better than him. At building stuff, and with the company. I wanted to be better."

Pepper was listening carefully, a new look on her face, and he realized with a jolt it was kindness. A gentle look, that he had last seen on his mother's face.

"Mom died when I was ten. Dad wasn't really the same after that, but the parts I do remember, the parts about him and Mom together, they were happy."

"I'm sorry."

"Its ok. It was a long time ago." He smiled at her. "You remind me of her sometimes. My mom. In a good, not totally creepy way!" He grabbed his hair and groaned. "I did not mean that how it came out. I meant that..."

"I know what you meant."

"Oh. Good."

He smiled at her and was relieved that she smiled back. A small smile, nothing extravagant, but it was something. It was now or never with the final step. He sent Steve the signal. The poor guy was sitting all alone at the end of the table, lost in his thoughts, but as soon as he saw Tony's wink, he said his rehearsed line.

A small part of him worried that the Captain was lonely, and that they needed to find him a girl soon, but he decided to worry about that tomorrow.

"May I have this dance?" he asked softly, holding out his hand.

"What are you trying to do Tony?" she answered her eyes narrowed.

"Just dance Pepper. Nothing funny. I just thought..."

"Though what, exactly."

"I owe you one. For Homecoming. It was something that I kinda screwed up. I want to make it up to you."

"Tony..."

"Please? Look I was not distracted by some other girl, I was distracted by one of my good friends punching out my one of my other friends. I needed to help them, and I know that you can appreciate that. I mean, what would you have done in my shoes?"

"Called. Texted. Sent someone to explain." He gulped.

"Please?" he said, pulling out his puppy dog eyes. She sighed.

"Fine. One dance."

He mentally did a fist pump. Instead he smiled and took her hand. The music was fast, upbeat, and he made a mental note to thank Steve for this. He spun Pepper out and then in, thanking his mother for the dance lessons. Damn he was thanking a lot of people lately.

"I forgot you knew how to dance."

"I forgot I liked dancing. As long as it's with you."

"Cheesy Tony."

"Heh, that rhymes."

"I'll write you a poem." She said with a little disdain in her voice, though a smile on her lips. They danced their way through two songs, before he opened his mouth again.

"I didn't think you would come tonight." he said softly.

"I wasn't sure I should."

"Why did you."

"I did because Thor would not get out of my way."

"I don't think so. I think you did because you care."

"Care for what?"

"Care for me. Enough to give me a second shot."

"Shot at what, exactly." She hissed, her tone ice. He swallowed nervously.

"You?"

"Can I cut in?" Steve said, appearing at her elbow as if by magic.

"Yes please!" She said. Tony watched her go, and stood still for a few seconds.

How many times could you screw up with one girl? At the rate he was going, he would be in the millions by Christmas. He sat down at the table, alone, to watch his friends.

First Natasha and Clint, moving extra slowly, wrapped around each other. He smiled as he watch Clint pull Natasha a little closer. He had helped make that happen. Why could he not make anything happen for himself?

Then there was Thor and Jane. She was tiny compared to him, but there was nothing tiny about the grin on the big guy's face. If an idiot like Thor could get a brilliant chick like Jane, he ought to be able to get Pepper.

Finally there was Bruce and Betty. He had lost his science bro this year, although he would admit he had lost him to someone rather great. The two were revolving slowly on the spot in a corner, sharing a smile and a whisper. They looked so together, even if they weren't yet. Officially anyway.

Pepper. Why did he want her so damn badly? Maybe because she was different. She wasn't as smart as Jane or Betty, and she wasn't really as gorgeous as Natasha, he thought on his unbiased, scientific level. If genetics and natural selection were real, he should desire someone who had those traits.

Sometimes she was smart. In ways he could not begin to understand. She understood people, and he was still trying to figure those out. She was beautiful in her own way. She didn't let anyone, especially not him, control her. She was in charge, unafraid and strong.

Maybe that was why he liked her, he thought as he watched her dance with Steve as the last stains of the song played in his ears. He wondered if he would get a third shot. Something told him he wouldn't. He was about to make his way out of the room, when she turned, and started walking towards him. He braced himself. If she was about to hit him, he would have deserved that. He was ready to take what ever she dished out.

She didn't hit him. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his.

His mind, his brilliant mind that never shut up, stopped. She was kissing him. It made no sense. She should not be kissing him.

A second later, he decided he did not care and kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her.

They broke apart and she smiled at him. He still could not figure it out, but he smiled back.

"You were right. I do care." She whispered, as she kissed him again. He held her against him, and finally felt like he was home. Money could do a lot of things. Power could make things happen. But Pepper Potts could do much more than either of those things combined.

She could make Tony Stark fall in love.

* * *

Bruce could not really believe it. He was dancing with a gorgeous girl, who was as smart as she was beautiful and he was having a great time with her. It was like some thing out of a dream. One he didn't want to wake up from.

They had spent most of dinner talking about their project, off in their own world. Despite having several lots of friends around them, Bruce could not be bothered to even look at anyone else.

And now they were dancing. He had never been good at dancing. Natasha had given him some experience, but no confidence. He had felt scared as she pulled him up, but her own nervous eyes reassured him, that she was as good as he was. He took her into his arms, and spun her, making her giggle.

"You can dance?"

"Sorta. Not really." She giggled again. He smiled at the sound and spun her into him, following the beat and copying what Tony was doing. He had never had more fun.

They were in their world again, the room might as well have been empty. She worked some magic on him, made him feel so happy. He could not remember the last time he had felt so glad.

He wished he could ignore the thought that he had to come clean with her. Tell her as much as he wanted to, he could not be with her. He would hurt her, it was only a matter of time, and he could not stand to see her get hurt.

The music changed, slowed down, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He breathed in sharply at the feel of her pressed against him, but slowly wrapped his arms around her too. His left brain was screaming at him, but his right brain was trying very hard to ignore it. He did not want to end the bliss so soon.

"Betty?" he said softly in her ear.

"Yes?"

"Do you like me?" _Chicken_, he thought.

"Yeah. I do like you." _Come on. Just imagine her covered in bruises like Mom was. Imagine her trying to get away and hurting her even more._ He did, and shut his eyes against the vision. He could not let that happen. Not in this lifetime. He took a deep breath.

"You shouldn't." he whispered.

"Why not? Are you dangerous?" She asked, looking him in the eyes. He had to tell her. To push her away for her own good. The last hour and a half had been heaven, but he could not in good conscience let her get attached to him.

"Yes." he said, his voice painful. She was watching him with a calm, calculating look he had seen on Tony when his friend tried to plan something mischievous.

"Do you like me, Bruce?" She asked softly, her eyes still on his. Dammit, he could not lie to her, that was why he was telling her this.

"Yes."

"Then kiss me. Right now." He stopped breathing, and pulled back a little. He couldn't get sucked in now. If he kissed her there would be no going back. He would kiss her and fall for her and he would not be able to keep her from getting hurt.

"No. I don't want you to get hurt." He felt like he was being ripped in two. One half of him was warring violently with another, splitting him right down the middle.

"Bruce..."

"Betty, I can't." He said, trying to calm both sides of him. He glanced at her eyes and saw the hurt in them and realized it was too late. He had not needed his fists to hurt her. He had done it just with his words.

He never did see Pepper kiss Tony, or hear the applause and cheers of the rest of his friends. All he remembered was Betty letting him go, and walking out the door.

* * *

Thor smiled at his friends, all dancing away across his living room. This had been a great idea of Tony's. If only because he got to spend a little more time with Jane.

He felt extremely proud of himself for getting Pepper to come. And even more so for having talked Tony out of getting an ice sculpture. Jane was simply gorgeous, and she seemed to be having a good time. She had spent most of dinner telling him about a star constellation she believed held a black hole. Something about it shifting every night.

He had been the first to start dancing. Not because he knew how, not really. He, as much as Tony, owed a girl a dance for Homecoming. True, she had abandoned him as much as he had left her. But as their friends joined them, Thor thought things might just be ok.

When Pepper did kiss Tony, he was the first to cheer. Jane smiled as she hugged him, and he hoped that she was proud too. Pepper would never have come without Jane.

"Thank you for your help." He whispered, when things had calmed down.

"It was your idea. I just helped with the execution."

"You did a lot more than that." he said giving her another hug. He loved feeling her close to him. Like she was a center of gravity and when she was around, he knew exactly where he stood. "You convinced her to give him another chance."

"Knowing Tony, he is going to need about a million chances. But Pepper cares. I know she does."

"And Tony cares for her. A lot."

It was getting late, they had danced most of the night. Thor had noticed Steve dancing with Natasha after Clint complained about his foot. But when the playlist finally ran out, after a cheerful I Wanna Hold Your Hand, by the Beatles, it was time to play host again. He gave Jane a kiss, and hugged Pepper, accepting the thanks she whispered in his ear, as well as getting a friendly punch on the shoulder from Natasha.

"Where is Betty?" Jane asked as she pulled on her coat. Everyone looked at each other, not sure of the last time they had seen Betty or Bruce. Thor set off through the house to look for the pair, careful to knock on each door before coming in. He did not want to stumble across a love scene, that would be awkward.

He found Bruce in his own room, sitting on the bed, his head in his hands.

"Bruce? Where is Betty, the girls are about to leave..."

"She left, already." He had never seen Bruce look like this. Like a rag doll that had been propped up on sticks.

"You alright Bruce?" he asked, coming into the room and sitting down next to his friend.

"No. I don't know. I did what I had to. I just... It hurts."

"What did you do?"

"I told her the truth. I can't be with her, Thor. I'm dangerous." Thor threw his head back and laughed.

"Bruce, you are as dangerous as a mosquito." He said, clapping the poor guy on the back.

"Are you ever afraid of hurt Jane?" He asked glaring at the big guy. The smile on his face disappeared very suddenly. "Do you ever, I don't know, think you might accidentally hurt her? Roll over and squish her, or hit her, or... break her heart?"

"Yes. Sometimes."

"There. That is why I can't be with Betty. I can't hurt her, and if I stay with her, I will. I don't know when but I will."

"Bruce, man, look..."

"Don't bother. Its already done." Bruce said, standing up, and leaving the room. Thor felt very confused, but also very nervous for his friend.

* * *

Natasha glanced at each person in the hall, examining their faces carefully. Bruce had just run by, not stopping to say anything and exited out the door. She had caught a glimpse of his face and it was filled with pain. Even more than after the time Clint had punched him.

"Something is not right." She said softly to her boyfriend. Thor appeared then, looking a little confused. Granted, he usually had that expression on his face.

"I don't know what's gotten into him. But he said Betty left already."

Natasha glanced at Jane and Pepper, who shared the look.

"Alright, then. See you boys later." Pepper spoke up, after they silently agreed on their plan of attack.

The three girls left the house and stuffed themselves into Pepper's car.

"Where did she go? Your place, to wait maybe?" Natasha said to Pepper from the passenger seat.

"No. I don't think so."

"Ok. So her place. Come on. Where does she live?"

Jane started to give directions, and Natasha began to feel like she was in the wrong car. She wondered if she should go make sure Bruce was ok. He was her friend too, she owed him one. Or four, as that was how many nights she had stayed at his place before she had gotten together with Clint.

At the same time she felt a responsibility to her girlfriend, the whole chicks before dicks thing. It was new, but it was comforting. Pepper, Jane and Betty had been there when she had not been talking with Clint. She owed them to help here, and now.

Pepper pulled up in front of the Ross residence, and Natasha felt a shiver of unease. Everything about the house said strict. She could not believe someone as nice as Betty lived here.

"Come on. We need to make sure she's ok." Pepper said, getting out of the car and making her way to the front door. The two others followed.

Pepper knocked and waited. A minute later, an elderly man with a straight mustache and an even straighter posture answered. Natasha felt like she should give him a salute.

"I'm not interested in girl guide cookies."

"We're not from the girl guides. We're friends of Betty's." The man did not say anything, or even show emotion as his daughter was mentioned. "She left kinda fast, we just want to make sure she's alright."

"Do you know who she has been hanging around?" He said stiffly. Natasha felt right away in the pit of her stomach that they should lie, but she had no way of stopping Pepper from answering.

"Bruce Banner?" Natasha swiftly kicked her shin. "Ouch!"

"Sorry. We just want to see Betty."

"Betty is unavailable at the moment. I'll let her know you stopped by." he said before promptly shutting the door in their faces without so much as a goodbye.

"Well that went well. Why did you kick me?" Pepper said, glaring at Natasha.

"I think there may be a reason that Betty hasn't told him about Bruce." she said darkly. She took her sparkly gold heals off, and threw them at Jane who struggled to catch them before turning to the back yard, intent on seeing this through to the end.

"Natasha what are you doing? Natasha!" Jane stage whispered, but Natasha ignored her, vaulting over the fence, and making her way through the immaculate back yard. She spotted the lights on on the second floor and took the time to spot a Beatles poster, before starting to climb.

Shimmying up the house was easy. Knocking on the window was easy. Seeing Betty's tear stained face as she opened the window, even with the expression of disbelief was a lot harder.

"Natasha, how did you get up here?"

"I climbed. We were worried about you. You left without saying a word." Betty leaned back against the bed and dissolved into tears again.

"I'm sorry, if I scared you..."

"We just want to know what happened. Why did you leave like that."

"He rejected me." She did not have to ask who he was.

"Why?"

"Something about him being dangerous." she said through her tears. "I don't want to talk Natasha. Thanks for coming and everything, but..."

"He likes you though..."

"Yes, he does. But he still doesn't want me."

"Bull shit." Natasha said, steeling herself.

"I just want to be alone." Betty said.

"No problem. I'm going to kick his ass into next century." She said, earning herself a small smile.

"Don't bother. He doesn't want this to happen, then it won't. Its as simple as that." Natasha watched her friend sink her head into her hands, and stiffened her resolve to talk some sense into Bruce.

"No it isn't. It is not ok that both of you are hurting over this."

"What would you know about hurt, Natasha."

"A hell of a lot." Natasha spat, before getting back to her feet. "Don't give up on him, Betty. I know he cares for you, and you care for him. And I know what that is worth." With that she jumped out the window and climbed back down.

By the time she had reached the front of the house, she spotted Pepper's car half a block up and walked to it.

"She is in tears and wants to be alone. I think we are better off leaving her be for tonight and coming back tomorrow." Natasha said as she slipped into the seat.

"You are batshit crazy, Natasha Romanoff." Pepper said, as she put the car in gear.

"I'm just trying to take care of my friends. Also, if I'm crazy, what does that make you?"

"Certifiably insane." the redhead retorted, as they took off.

* * *

Hows THAT for Pepperony? Don't worry. Tony will screw up again... But for now, we have a have a little Bretty to concentrate on. And I thought the last chapter was long... but you like long chapters, don't you?


	10. Chapter 10

AN: So you know that horrible feeling that comes when you write your chapter and forget to press the save button before you shut down? That is really annoying. Just saying.

* * *

"Tony..."

"...And she looked so damn good in that dress, I mean she looks great all the time..."

"Tony..."

"I was so sure she wasn't going to come, and then she did, and..."

"Tony..."

"...she is such a good kisser too, I have no idea how the hell she manages to hide that from everyone..."

"TONY!" Steve yelled.

"What?! Can't I be happy, the girl of my dreams kissed me and wants to be with me!"

"No, you can totally be happy. But we need to find Bruce." Tony stopped pacing frantically, a serious expression coming onto his face.

"What happened to him?"

"He disappeared half way through the night, no one has seen him or Betty until he rushed out of here." Steve said, sitting down.

"I found him upstairs. He said something about being dangerous, then he left." Thor added, sitting down next to Steve.

"Oh, not that shit again." Tony muttered.

"Again? What's going on with him? He was so happy during dinner and lately..."

"I can't tell you, lets just go get him." Tony said furiously, grabbing his keys and leading the way out the door.

They tried to get Bruce out of his apartment for the next two hours without success. Reluctantly admitting defeat for that night, Tony took the time to drive them all home in his Escalade. Steve was last.

"Tony, what's Bruce on about. Dangerous?"

"Its a really stupid idea he has gotten into his head, but I can't tell you. I promised him."

"So he left her."

"I think he told her to stay away. From him, more specifically."

"It makes no sense. He was all over her, and now..."

"Give him time. He'll realize his mistake soon enough." Tony said wisely. Silence fell as Tony pulled up in front of Steve's apartment building. "I owe you, Steve. For talking to Pepper." Steve started to explain, but Tony held up a hand. "I don't know what you said, and I don't really want to know. I just want to say thank you. For whatever you said, and if ever you need help, any help, you can count on me."

Steve nodded. "Just try not to screw it up too fast."

"What makes you think I will screw it up?" Steve threw him a look and the billionaire sighed. "Alright, I'll be careful. Besides, I think its time you got a girl too. You were all alone tonight."

"I don't mind. I don't need a girl to keep me company."

"A guy then?" Steve glared at him.

"I'm not gay, Tony."

"Ok, ok, just let us know if something comes up."

"Trust me. If something does you will be the first to know. See you tomorrow for practice." Steve said before hopping out of the car and making his way up to the apartment.

It was very late now, and he felt exhausted from the day he had had. A part of him wondered if he should have told Tony about Peggy, but another was certain that Tony would blow it up into something that it wasn't. Besides, it was not like anything had happened. Or was going to happen. A few conversations in the art room does not a potential relationship make. Besides, she had turned him down once already.

He lay back on his pillow, thinking that sleep might come fast seeing that he was so tired. His eyes fell on the sketch of her, and a small smile appeared on his face. Maybe he should try talking to her again. Find out who the little girl was. He was a sucker for mystery after all.

* * *

There were only two reasons that Clint was still in school. The first was football, an opportunity to work his body hard enough to shut up his mind. It was nice to have friends through the sport too and kept him focused and balanced sometimes. The second reason was his brother. Something in him wanted not to mess up as bad as Barney had. He wanted to be better than his drop out convict of a brother.

Lately though, the first reason had kinda fallen apart, what with his injury, and his second reason was on shaky grounds. He had a meeting with the school guidance counselor on Monday to discuss post-high school options, something he tried to avoid thinking about at all.

And he thought Shakespeare was complicated.

Practice Sunday night had been a strange experience. Bruce had not showed, either because he was still holed up in his apartment or because he was avoiding all of them. Either way, the team was actually struggling to find a sense of direction. Steve did his best, but even on the bench, Clint felt the shift in attention. It was like having a ship without a functioning rudder and with the end of the regular season coming up fast, they were headed for a mean iceberg that could sink them.

He was itching to get back on the field, too.

Monday morning had him in English class focusing on the stupid Act Three quiz, and thanking God his girlfriend actually understood the dead white guy. After first period English was usually Math, but today had him hobbling down to the administration and waiting nervously for his meeting.

The door to a tiny office opened and an older lady in a pink suit came out to greet him.

"Hello Mr. Barton. Please come in." He sat himself down as she closed the door and he swallowed nervously. Administrators always made him nervous. Maybe it was the fact that they were the ones that had told him about Barney. Or maybe it was that they always seemed to say he was not good enough.

"How are you doing?"

"Alright." He replied automatically.

"Excellent. As you know, all seniors are required to have a meeting with me to discuss some options after high school. It come up faster than you realize." He gave a nod, waiting for her to continue. He wanted to avoid talking for as long as possible. "I wonder if you have some ideas about what you want to do after you graduate?"

Damn. "Ummm... Not really." He said nervously.

"Alright." She answered, pulling out a thick file from her desk. He spotted his name along the edge and swallowed again. "I see that you are on the football team, are you interested in pursuing that?"

"I played three games this year, then I got injured." He said, motioning to his healing foot.

"No reason to keep the scouts away. I have your stats from the last couple of years and they are impressive. You had a starting position as a freshman, that alone catches some attention." she said as she flipped through the paper. "Of course your grades are not the best, though I'm noting some improvement this year."

"I have a tutor. Sort of." Well, Natasha was helping him.

"I see. Are you interested in playing football at the college level?" He stared at her. The weight of his entire future was pressing down on him and he felt like he was going to suffocate. Yes he loved football. But the thought of being in school for another four years was daunting. Especially if Natasha wasn't there to help him out. He didn't want to count on her all the freaking time.

"I don't think college is for me. I can't really afford it."

"I'm sure we could get you a football scholarship. Is there anything you would be interested in studying?"

"No. I hate studying and school." He said sullenly. Not that she was listening to him anyway. She worked for the damn school and the school wanted for as many students to go on to lead successful lives and go to college and make something of themselves as possible. The fact was he was not Bruce or Tony, he did not have the brains to push out some wild invention that would save the world from global warming. Nor was he Steve or Thor, golden boys with leadership skills and talents to match.

He was just Clint Barton.

She gave him a careful look.

"Alright. What about jobs out of high school. Is there a particular field you were interested in?" He thought for a moment before coming up with his answer.

"Law enforcement?"

"Would you like to be a police officer?"

"Maybe not local police. Bigger than that. I want to help people. Protect them." He felt like he was handing his dreams on a platter to this woman who was two seconds from taking a butcher knife out and eating them. He had never told anyone, not even Natasha.

The woman continued to study him through her glasses, before she pulled out another page from his folder.

"Mr. Barton, I see here that your older brother is currently in county jail and..."

"I am not my brother. Leave him out of this." He was completely unable to keep the venom out of his voice. He should have known that his brother would show up eventually.

She returned her gaze to him again, and put the page back down, before rummaging through her desk, coming up with a small pamphlet. She handed it to him, but he did not take it.

"I think this might be another option you might want to consider." He took the pamphlet and stared.

"The Army?"

"It is an interesting opportunity for someone like you. Clearly, you are not made for classrooms, you prefer to be _doing_ things. As a soldier, you would definitely be protecting people. A whole country in fact. If not, it is always a nice stepping stone to other things. You would get to travel and train, and your football skills would not be ignored either."

He stared at her, wondering how the hell she had figured him out so damn well. "Thank you." He said softly, before stuffing the pamphlet in his bag.

"Think about it. I can get hold of some application forms if you are interested, maybe even put a good word in for you. My husband is in the Marines." She said, holding her door open for him as he passed. His mind was full of ideas, and he wondered if this was how Tony felt.

Private Barton. He kinda liked the sound of that.

* * *

He just could not win. Yes, he had won Pepper and that was one gigantic victory. But somehow in the same night, he had lost Bruce and the team was now well on its way to losing all the momentum they had built through the past six weeks. And his company was still floundering.

Talk about win some, lose some.

Still, it was hard to feel too down, walking hand in hand with Pepper to their first class of the day. He had not seen Bruce in two days, but he had decided that he would take care of his friend after practice today if he still didn't show.

"What are you thinking?" Pepper asked him, pulling him from his thoughts. She sat down in her usual seat in the front of class and he sat down next to her.

"Bruce. Just thinking I need to find out what's got him all moppy."

"Whatever it is, I think it has something to do with Betty."

"Yeah, I figured."

"Just don't do anything stupid." she said as class started.

He spent most of class listening with one ear to the teacher ramble and watching Pepper as she took notes, smiling stupidly thinking she was his. He did not really understand why she wanted to be with him. But she did and he wasn't about to question it. He was just going to do his best not to mess it all up too bad.

"Friday night, would you like to have dinner with me?" He said as class ended and she placed her books into her bag.

"Sure. Where and when?"

"There's a new restaurant downtown. Charm?"

"That's the most expensive place in town!"

"How about seven?" She stared at him.

"That's what I get for dating a billionaire, isn't it."

"That is what you get when you date me." he said, giving her a kiss. He was going to be a charming romantic guy that actually deserved a girl like Pepper Potts.

* * *

Bruce was walking home. It was dark, very late and very cold. Winter was definitely on the way, he thought sullenly. He had just dropped off all his school work on the appropriate desks. Just because he was avoiding anywhere Betty might be, didn't mean he was going to flush his education down the drain.

The last few days had been rough. He had been having trouble sleeping, but could not stand being awake and allowing his mind to get the best of him. Thoughts about Betty, both her face covered in bruises and filled with pain as she left Thor's place, had haunted him almost none stop. He kept telling himself that he had done the right thing. That she was safe.

Maybe one day he would actually be ok with it.

His friends had been banging on his door a lot of the time, but he had steadfastly ignored them. He did not need them to try and get him back with Betty, not when it was better that they stayed apart. He just needed time to show them that.

He missed her like hell. He missed football and class and the rest of his friends too, but it was nothing compared to missing her. Even if they had only recently begun talking to each other, he missed their morning talks in homeroom, and working on their project, which he had thrown himself into, because it was the only thing left.

He wondered if he loved her. The thought made his breath catch and his feet stopped.

Because as soon as he thought it, he knew it was true.

Dammit, he loved her. And he had pushed her away, for her own safety. At least he had done it before he realized how much he cared about her. He kept on walking.

The hit came from nowhere. One minute he was walking towards the front door, the next he was sprawled on the asphalt, his shoulder throbbing painfully.

"Alright. This is how this is going to work. You will show me exactly what makes you so dangerous." He opened his eyes to see Natasha standing over him, her arms crossed over his chest. The moonlight was glinting off her red curls and there was a very determined look in her eyes, one he had only seen on the football field.

"Natasha?"

"Come on. Show me what's going to hurt Betty." He pushed himself to his feet. "Unless its emotional stuff, in which case we can just talk about it."

"I'm not..."

"The hell you aren't. Don't be scared you're going to hurt me. I can take whatever you give."

"Leave me alone Natasha."

"No. Show me what makes you so damn dangerous you pushed away a girl who cares about you. A lot."

"I won't." He said, before turning towards the door. She grabbed his jacked, yanking him back.

"Do I need to make you mad? I can do that too." She pushed him hard back, away from the door to the building. "Your mom? She works all the time, and you never see her, so I'm going to think you have serious mommy issues and that is why you are pushing Betty away." She tapped a finger to her nose.

"Don't..."

"Don't what? Talk about your mom? You know, Tony did some digging around on you and her. She's got a shit load of debt. Wonder what the hell she did to get that. Did she mess with the wrong people?"

"Stop it!"

"Not until you show me what makes you so dangerous. Betty's words, not mine. Maybe, your mom is in debt because your dad screwed her over. Maybe what you really have are daddy issues."

That was when Bruce lost it. He turned, throwing his clenched fist into Natasha's face. He watched her stumble and grin at him, blood dripping from a split lip.

"Looks like I hit a nerve. So what did Daddy do, Bruce?" He lunged at her again with a feral growl, but she blocked his punch and tossed him aside using his own momentum. He turned, his anger bubbling over in him and attacked again.

For several minutes, he continued to throe himself at Natasha as she blocked his attacks over and over again. Finally exhausted, he fell to his knees, breathing hard.

"Is that all you got?" She challenged, her fists still raised. After a moment though, she sighed and pulled him to his feet, half dragging him into the building.

"Come on Bruce." She muttered to him, pulling him up the stairs into his apartment and dropping him on the couch. He sighed, and glared at her as she went into the kitchen and came back with an icepack that she handed and he pressed to his shoulder. Falling on the ground about sixteen times was not easy.

"I'm sorry." He said softly.

"Talk to me." She said, sitting down on the coffee table in front of you.

"What about?"

"You know damn well, what about. I just came to help. Betty told me you said you were dangerous. I just want to show you, you did not hurt me."

"You're bleeding."

"Oh, please this is nothing."

"Natasha, I'm sorry."

"Basic self defense and you didn't land another hit." She was right. He had spent most of the altercation on the ground.

"Betty is not you."

"Just stop it ok? Bruce, you are not dangerous."

"I hit you."

"Like I said. Its nothing. Frankly, Steve packs a bigger punch than you."

"Natasha..."

"Bruce. You are NOT dangerous."

"I am. I could hurt her. I just hurt you!"

"If you hurt her, I will kick your ass and you know it. But that doesn't mean that you will." He stared at her. She was persistent, he gave her that.

"Why are you doing this?

"Because you helped me when I needed it. And I want to return the favor. She misses you. And you clearly miss her." She stood up finally, her hands on her hips. "Look, I know I'm not the best person in the world or anything. But I do know how it feels to not be with someone you care about. Just look at me. I'm fine. If you are so afraid of your anger or anything else, you can come and take it out on me. Its not a reason to stay away from Betty." She walked over to the window and opened it up.

"Bye, Nat." She grinned at him.

"See you, Bruce." she said before hopping out the window onto the fire escape.

He had a long night of thinking ahead of him.

* * *

Thor felt the adrenaline spike in him as the center snapped the ball into Steve's hands. He charged forwards, blitzing through the offensive line and making a hard beeline for the man with the ball. It took only about four second, but he grabbed Steve around the waist and pulled him to the ground. The whistle blew, loud and clear as he let go.

"Got to be faster, Rogers. Good attack, Thor." He heard Fury say. "Right, lets split up and work. Rogers and Romanoff, get that toss down. I want it in tip top shape for the game Saturday. Rest of you, faceoffs."

Thor sighed. It was Tuesday afternoon, now the third practice without Bruce's calm presence and he could see the stress on Fury's face. It was hard for the tough old guy to admit, but he was not a football coach. He was an administrator who had been given the post, when the school had cut the paid position. Ever since Bruce had come on board though, he never had to worry about what to train, which drills to run, how to attack the opposing team. The little guy had always taken care of it.

Now however, it was more than just noticeable how much the team lacked direction. They needed Bruce. Thor wished he knew what the hell he could do.

Natasha had shown up with a split lip to practice, though she insisted she had fallen down the stairs and bitten it. Steve was working with her, but there was something in his posture that lacked energy and focus. He was thinking about Bruce too. Clint was trying to fill the gap, but he was not exactly cut out for the job. And Tony was torn between happiness at his new relationship and worry about Bruce and his company.

To top it all off, he had hardly seen Jane these past few days because she was trying to take care of Betty. As if this week could get any worse, he groaned to himself.

He had thought a lot about Bruce's words. About hurting the person he loved. He knew there was only one thing that could hurt Jane, something she didn't know about and he did not want to tell her. He didn't want to put that knowledge on her. It was his burden to bear.

The rest of practice continued in much the same fashion, with Fury leaving a distinctly sour taste in Thor's mouth with his lack of leadership. He changed out of his pads and into jeans and a shirt before heading out to the school parking lot, where he found Jane waiting for him.

"Hey!"

"Hey, how are you?" she said, throwing her arms around his neck. He smiled and lifted her off her feet.

"Fine. Hungry."

"You are always hungry."

"How's Betty?" He asked, putting her back down. He watched her face fall a little.

"Not too good. She's really broken up about Bruce, and she doesn't want to go to school because she doesn't want to face him. They may not have been dating officially, but he still hurt her."

"Bruce hasn't been seen by anyone, and he hasn't shown up to practice in three days. We are screwed without him." Thor added.

"We need to DO something. I just don't know what." Jane said, pulling at her hair in frustration. Thor reached a hand to pull them away, and pulled her against his solid body. She gave a small sigh, and wrapped her arms around him, relaxing into his arms. She was so passionate, it was one of the things he loved about her.

"We'll figure something out. Just need to think what about." He said into her hair. "In the mean time, I am hungry. Can I take you out to dinner?"

"You mean grab some burgers at the diner?" He hung his head sheepishly. "Sure. Diner sounds good. Maybe a brainwave will hit us." She said, climbing into his car.

Maybe he would get the courage to tell her about the cloud that hung over his family.

* * *

Natasha stared at the tiny locker mirror. It was not her split lip that was bothering her, she wore the war wound with pride. She had done what she could for Bruce, the rest was really up to him. But as she studied her reflection, all she could see was a stupid girl that was still keeping secrets from her boyfriend.

Secrets that could in theory come to bite them in the ass.

The last bell rang and she turned away from the mirror, throwing her lip gloss back into her bag. She was not going to let her past come back to haunt her.

"Natasha!" Pepper was yelling at her from down the hall, as she watched her friend came barreling up, holding on tightly to Jane's hand. "We need to talk. I need to talk. To you about something important. Please!"

"If this is about Betty, I don't know what the hell else we can do." Natasha said, shutting her locker and turning to her two friends.

"Its not about that! I need some advice. Come on." Pepper said, grabbing her hand and leading both her and Jane out of the school to her car.

"Where are we going?"

"Out. I need some girl help."

"What is going on Pepper!" Jane said, trying to get the almost blond to slow down and not succeeding. Even Natasha was having trouble keeping up with her frantic pace.

"We just need some privacy. Please?" Pepper said as they got to her car. She turned and Natasha saw the look of slight panic on her face. She glanced at Jane and nodded.

"You're lucky I don't have practice on Wednesdays." Natasha grumbled as she got into the backseat of the car. Pepper pulled out and drove to the outskirts of town, until they happened upon a small ice cream and french fries vendor. Empty picnic tables surrounded the rather sad looking joint, but Pepper stopped the car and led the way out.

"What can I get you girls?" Asked the rather large and disgusting clerk. Pepper glanced at them, and Jane took control.

"Something with chocolate, one plate of french fries and three milkshakes."

"I'll bring them out to you." He said with a mumble as he got to work on their order.

Jane steered them to a table and sat down.

"Alright. What the hell is wrong."

"Tony." Pepper said, a little fear coloring her voice.

"Aha, Clint owes me five bucks!" Natasha said with a grin. Jane glared at her.

"You bet with Clint how long it was going to take for Tony to screw up?"

"Well, he said Tony would last at least a week, and I didn't think so..."

"This is not about Tony like that!" Pepper screeched. The vendor appeared at their table then, and set down a red tray with their order. Natasha passed a milkshake to Pepper, before grabbing a fry.

"Then what is this about, other than Tony."

"Me. I mean... dammit this is hard." She took a deep breath, rubbing her temples. "I have a confession to make." Both of the other girls waited, chewing silently on their food. "I'm not really... experienced. I mean, in the bedroom."

Jane shrugged. "So what's the big deal?"

"Ok, when I mean not really, I mean at all."

"Virginia Potts, are you a virgin?" Natasha said with a sly smile. It was hard not to have a little fun with her friends discomfort. But Pepper dropped her head into her folded arms and muttered a "yes" that surprised her a little.

"Honey, its not a big deal." Jane said, putting a hand on her friend's arm.

"Yes, it is." Pepper answered lifting her face again. "I mean, its not really a secret that Tony is, or was, a bit of a man whore, and that he knows what he's doing. I just don't want to come across as inexperienced. It might make him reconsider me."

"Oh please, like Tony would ever dump you after what you put him through to get you. You have all the cards." Natasha said, taking the Cadbury chocolate bar and breaking it into pieces.

"I need advice. Help on how to be. What to do."

"You came to the wrong girl." Jane said with a sigh. Natasha stared at her.

"You're saying you haven't slept with Thor yet? You've together months!"

"Are you saying you have slept with Clint?" Pepper countered, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I have. Its no big deal."

"Yes it is. Your first time is a big deal." Jane said. "You slept with him and you didn't tell us?"

"Why should I tell you, its between me and him." Natasha said, suddenly feeling a little defensive. Pepper grabbed her hand.

"Please help me. Tell me what to do. He asked me out on Friday and if he's expecting stuff, I don't want to... I don't know fall short or something."

Natasha grimaced, but Jane was mirroring Pepper's expression.

"You want me to tell you about sex?" Both girls nodded. "Ok, well, what do you want to know?"

"What are you expected to do?" Pepper asked, Jane piled on and pretty soon they were talking over one another.

"What can I expect from him?"

"Does he want me to dress up special? Should I wear underwear or..."

"What position is best, or easiest..."

"Stop! You guys I can't answer those questions! Every guy is different. I mean, what Clint likes in bed is probably not going to be what Thor or Tony likes." Jane and Pepper slumped simultaneously.

"Alright. Well, does it hurt? The first time?"

"Yes, it will hurt." she shivered a little remembering her first time. "But just get them to take it slow. Tony cares about you, he won't want to screw it up by going too fast. And don't do anything you don't want to."

"Should I... go down on him?"

"Only if you want to. It can be good, but that doesn't mean you should if you are not comfortable with it." Jane and Pepper both pulled faces. "Ok, let me ask you a question. Do you want to sleep with Tony?"

"I don't know. I just thought, he would expect it of me, that's all I was really thinking about."

"Do you want to sleep with Tony. Think about that. Now." Pepper furrowed her brow and silence fell for a moment. Natasha sipped on her milkshake.

"Not right now." Pepper said finally. "We barely started dating. I don't want to mess it up. But I do want to, eventually."

"Good. Your turn, Foster. Do you want to sleep with Thor?"

Jane bit her lip as she looked at her two friends.

"I want to. I keep thinking that I'm ready, but as soon as we get into the bedroom, I throw the brakes on. Farthest we've gone is second base."

Natasha nodded. "Its ok. You're just scared and that is normal. If you want to though, if you know you are ready, push yourself out of your comfort zone."

"How? I mean I get nervous as soon as he takes his shirt off and I start panicking in my head and..."

"Breath Jane." Pepper said.

"Lingerie helps." Natasha said, earning herself two glares. "Its true! It puts you in the right mindset, and you don't feel so nervous when he takes your clothes off, because you have something to show him. And it usually turned them on really well too."

Jane nodded, lost in thought.

"Look. I know this is a lot and it seems like a huge step. Its is, I'm not trying to downsize it or anything. But its really up to you guys. If you don't feel ready, or if you do, then act on those instincts. They are there for a reason."

"Thank God for you Natasha. I was about to lose my mind."

Natasha grinned at her friend. She wished that she had been given a talk like this before her first time. She wished a lot of things had gone differently her first time. But the past was the past and she was going to leave it there.

* * *

AN: So I had a conundrum... I totally busted up the Bruce and Betty in the last chapter, and now I'm realizing I'm not sure how to get them back together. So any suggestions?

If you like where this is going, Review and let me know!


	11. Chapter 11

Tony was a difficult guy to draw. A year ago, he would have said that it would be easy. Yet, Steve wanted to capture the new Tony that he had seen this year. The Tony that had helped Clint, that had broken down in front of him after practice, and that had been nervous about dancing with Pepper Potts, and the one that had been over the moon when she had finally kissed him.

So Wednesday afternoon had him in the art room again, drawing his friend in those moments to capture all the sides. The collage effect was good for that. He could put a lot of different moments of Tony into one pictures.

Peggy was not there, nor did she show up the entire three hours Steve spent drawing. It would be a lie to say that his heart did not fall a little bit at the fact she had not showed.

He packed up his completed drawing, just as the clock above the door hit five pm. It was late and he had spent a long time sitting in the same position, so he stretched out a little before heading back out to his motorbike and home. He had homework and a big game without Bruce to think about.

He was just past the doors when he heard the scuffle.

"Come on, baby, please?" Steve turned to see a large guy he had never seen grabbing the arm of a very familiar brunette.

"I don't like to repeat myself." She answered and with a violent punch, threw the guy to the ground. "Stay away from me and her. Understand?"

"Everything alright?" He called, walking over.

"Fine, Captain." Peggy said with a tense smile. She continued on her way, walking to a small red hatchback. Steve glanced back at the other idiot who had harrased Peggy, still lying on the cement with a bloody nose. It took about one second for him to make a decision.

"Peggy! Wait." He yelled running after her. She had her hand on the door latch when his appeared above it.

"Steve."

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Leave me alone." She pushed his hand out of the way and opened the door. His heart lept into his throat as her hand touched his.

"Peggy, did he hurt you or something..."

"He is not important. Let me go."

"I can call someone and try to..."

"I said, leave me alone!" She tried to shove him out of the way, hard, but he was a hell of a lot stronger than the other guy. He did not move, even as she pushed him hard. Her eyes threw daggers at him.

"You know you don't have to be alone."

"Then with who am I supposed to be? With you?"

"I'm not saying that. You just don't..."

"I fight my own battles, Steve. I don't need a knight in shinning armor." With that, she got into the car, shutting it in his face. A second later she took off, leaving the parking lot. He could not understand exactly what he had seen, but he was sure there had been several small toys in her back seat.

He glanced behind him at the guy, before striding over. The poor guy was mumbling something about a greedy bitch that did not take a genius to figure out.

"What's the matter with you, harassing a girl like that?"

"Stay out of it, kid. Its none of your damn business." the guy spat, before walking away too. It just left Steve feeling very confused.

Maybe it was time he found out exactly who Peggy Carter was.

* * *

Clint could not stop grinning. Or moving his left foot. Finally.

He had been nothing short of terrified when the doctor had pulled out a saw and started whirring away at the plaster, and his heart had sunk a little when he saw how atrophied the muscles had become in comparison to his right foot. He knew the story was the same all over his body, he was not in as good shape as he was before the injury.

Still, it was hard to not be in a good mood about finally being free.

He showed up to practice walking on own two feet Thursday. True, he was not allowed to dress, or hit, or get hit. But he ran. He jogged, and stretched and pushed. And it felt beyond good.

Natasha was still practicing at the running back position, but next week, he would be back for good. She had been brilliant, fast and tough, and it had been thrilling to see her play, though he was sure his life had gotten shorter with all the times his heart had stopped. He knew better than most that Natasha was tough, but he still wanted to protect her.

Bruce had still not shown up to practice. Clint wondered if he would be at the game come Saturday. The whole team was suffering, and Steve was doing his best to motivate them, but Steve did not have the strategy and the brains that the team needed to get organized. That was all Bruce.

He made up his mind to drag Bruce back to the field, kicking and screaming if he had to.

Clint left practice before the end, hopping in his truck and heading to Bruce's place. He knocked on the door, and to his great surprise, it opened.

"Oh. Hi." Bruce said, his eyes betraying his lack of comfort.

"Bruce. Can I come in?"

"I thought you were the pizza guy." he said sighing and opening the door wide enough for Clint to enter. "I see your cast is off."

"Finally. How are you?" Bruce avoided his eyes.

"Why did you come Clint."

"We need you Bruce. The team needs you."

"Is that the only reason you came?"

"Bruce, stop this hermit act. Betty hasn't been at school any more than you have, and she sure as hell is not at practice. I can understand you want to avoid her, even if I don't know or understand why. But the team is sinking without you Bruce."

"I'm the waterboy, Clint."

"You are a hell of a lot more than that and you know it."

"We will be in the playoffs, even if we lose Saturday."

"You really want to abandon your team like that?"

"Don't bother with the guilt trip."

"Then talk to me. Why are you acting like a nuclear bomb is going to go off?"

"I can't deal with you guys."

"Gee, thanks. Don't sugar coat it."

"Look, I know you think Betty and I should be together. And I know Tony and Natasha and Tony and the rest of you think that too. But I can't be with her."

"Fine. Don't be with her, ignore your feelings. But you can leave the house Bruce!"

"On one condition."

"What?"

"Yours and the rest solemn promise NOT to try to push me with Betty. Its for her own good."

"Why would we do that?"

"We did it with you and Natasha, and with Pepper and Tony. I can't have that happen with me and Betty. Its too dangerous."

Clint gave him a long calculating look. "Alright. I'll talk it over with them. But just so you know. I know from experience how damn hard it is to stay away from someone you want to be with. And I know how great it is to get over that."

Three phone calls later, and the friends were all once again in the same room. Each in turn swore not to interfere with Bruce and Betty. Bruce gave them all a nervous smile before pulling out his tablet and opening the team program.

"So I guess we haven't been practicing the flexbone formation, have you?" He said, before leading the way out.

* * *

Tony was sitting nervously in the back seat of the Rapide, wishing he was driving to take his nerves off. The prospect of a real date with Pepper Potts had him seriously panicking and hoping to every single deity he could think of that he would not mess this up, as he was so prone to do. The car, driven by Happy was pulling up to her house and she was coming out, dressed elegantly as only she could, in a sweet pink dress and her hair up. It took his breath away that she was walking towards him as he opened the door for her.

"Wow. You look gorgeous."

"Thanks. You clean up nice yourself."

"I'm alright. How are you doing?"

"Busy. Halloween is next week, got a lot of stuff to get ready for that. I hear you have a knock out costume ready?"

"I might. Where have you heard that?"

"I didn't really. I guessed. You always have ridiculous costumes."

"Hey, Dumbledore was a great costume."

"Have you actually read the books Tony?"

"I've skimmed them?"

She sighed with a smile. The conversation flowed better than he could have hoped and they got to the restaurant in no time. The maitre d' showed them to a roped off section in the corner of the restaurant and brought over a bottle in an ice bucket, pouring them each a small serving.

"Tony..."

"What?"

"We're underaged. Couldn't they get shut down for serving us champagne?"

"Relax. Its sparkling apple juice."

"Alright."

"I can be responsible. On occasion."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

"So, last time we had dinner, I told you about my parents. You now get to tell me all about yours." She looked at him carefully, for a long minute before putting down her glass.

"My family's... not really important."

"What?"

"Lets not talk about them?"

"Come on. If I had to, you can too. My family's all dead and I still talked about them."

"At least they loved you."

"What makes you think your parents don't love you?" Pepper glanced at him nervously and he felt worry and concern showing themselves on his face. He was pushing it, but he didn't know what else to do.

"Its nothing." He studied her another moment before deciding against his instinct to keep pushing.

"Alright. Tell me about something else. I heard the prom committee is trying to select a theme?"

"Yeah. We are trying to decide between a fairytale night and a casino night. Personally I kinda like the fairytale night, it sounds a little more magical and kinda appropriate for us growing up, reminding us about how we were as kids..."

Tony listened but his gaze wandered about her, settling on her earring. It was an elegant drop encircled with colorful stones. Kind of like an atom, with the larger red one in the middle, the nucleus and the stones around the edge like electrons. But not an atom from that existed. Not one that could... He stared longer, seeing it come to life in his mind's eye. The atom. Something new with... Different, opposing to allow...

"Tony?" Pepper said, forcing him back to reality.

"Pepper, you are a genius. Thank you. I gotta go."

He took her face in his hand and kissed her quickly, before running out the restaurant and jumping into the car, racing back to his house, his mind swirling with the vision of the atom that he could create and how he was going to create it.

* * *

Bruce sighed. He should have known this was going to be a disaster. He knew it when he woke up, he knew it before he went to sleep (granted near four am, he had been up going over the game plan). At least it was not because of him.

True the team was not playing to the best of their ability. Bruce was relying on plays that were instinctual, and not as complicated, those that they had been able to cover in their one practice. Unfortunately the Titans defense were quick learners. Within the first quarter, they were able to block most of the plays Bruce had planned for the game. But that was not the main reason they were losing by fourteen points.

Tony had not bothered to show up to the freaking game.

I'm going to kill him, he thought furiously. After making me promise to bring my ass down here and he cannot be bothered to... Bruce was seething.

He glanced behind him at Steve and Natasha, who were both sitting quietly on the bench as Thor tried to block another run on the field.

"We got to throw them something new Bruce." Steve said.

"You sure you can do it?" The pair nodded, identical looks of determination in their eyes.

"Alright. We can still win this one."

Bruce started calling harder plays, trick plays, feints. But the lack of practice was showing. They were still unorganized, and unprepared. The Titan defense was dominating them.

By the half, they were down twenty one to seven. Their back up kicker had missed on no less than three easy field goals, that would have shrunk the gap by a significant amount and the punts had left the Titan offense in excellent field position almost every single time, making it very hard for Thor to stop points being scored against them.

He glared at each other sweaty teenagers in front of him, hating himself for not having been there for them this week, and trying to think of how to get out of this one.

"We can turn this around. Screw kicking and punting, we are going for it, every damn time. Steve, we have to start moving the ball. That means if you can't get it off, take it yourself. Volstagg wake the hell up. Just because we haven't run these plays in a week does not mean you should be this damn rusty. Thor, we are going to need the ball more, stuff them up the middle. That running back is big, but newsflash, you're bigger, or at least, stronger." Bruce said, while drawing six plays on the white board. "We are going to use these to try and pass that number 48. That means you guys need to block him. Any questions."

"Has anyone heard from Tony?" Clint asked, from his corner. He had not been allowed to dress, under orders from Fury, but he was still wearing his jersey, his arms crossed on his chest and a furious glint in his eyes.

"Not yet. I promise you I will kick his ass myself once we win this game." Bruce said with clenched teeth.

They didn't win. They came close, about six times, to a tie, but on the last drive, fourth down and thirty yards to go with 3 seconds on the clock, Maxwell, the back up kicker missed again.

The final score was thirty to twenty eight.

Bruce did not wait for the players to get dressed. He did not wait for the fans to leave the stadium, nor did he wait for the fireworks to end, before he was striding out and making his way straight to Tony's mansion.

He knocked for a long time, before trying the door and finding it unlocked. He opened it slowly.

"Tony?" he called, but in response there was an eerie whirring and the lights in the house started to dim. For several seconds that was it, and then silence reigned again. Bruce made his way to the lab.

"Tony?" Just as he thought, the mad teenage billionaire was standing in front of quite a bit of wreckage, as well as a shinning fragment. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Inventing a new element."

"You can't invent a new element!"

"I just did." He said, holding up the shiny bit, and skipping over to the miniature reactor prototype he had built, placing the fragment into the contraption. The whole thing began to glow blue, and within a few seconds, the thing was emitting several gigavolts of electricity. Tony whooped.

"It works!" He yelled, laughing like a crazy person. He is crazy, Bruce thought as he glared at his friend.

"Tony! Did you forget something?"

"What?"

"The game?" He stared at him with blank eyes.

"What time is it?"

"After six!"

"Shit. Sorry?"

"Yeah, you damn well better be sorry Tony. We lost because of it!"

"I made this reactor work, saved a million people their jobs and found a new source of clean energy. Oh, and I invented a new element."

"Your team needed you." Bruce said, before turning his back and walking out of the house. Why Tony Stark wanted to be on the damn team in the first place was beyond him.

* * *

Thor hated losing a game. It ruined the whole week. He felt sad and sour as he changed back into his jeans. He avoided the rest of his teammates, and headed out to the parking lot. Jane was waiting for him as always, leaning against his car.

"Hey big guy."

"Hi Jane."

"I'm sorry, baby. You played really well."

"Thanks." he pulled her into his arms and held her tight. It felt good to have her there.

"I have something for you. Lets go to your place."

"What?"

"I have to show you. Can we go?"

"Sure. Lets get out of here." He said, opening the door for her. A night with Jane was exactly what he needed to raise his spirits.

They got to his house and Jane led the way to his room. He smiled when she reached to kiss him deeply, feeling very happy to have her. Still, something was off about her kisses.

"Jane? Are you alright?"

"Yes. I just... Want to do something with you."

"Ok, what?"

As an answer she began unbuttoning her shirt, biting her lips nervously. "If you want of course, I understand if you are too dejected by the game, we don't have to right now, but I thought, it might made you feel better and..." She shut up as he pressed his lips to hers.

"You're amazing Jane. Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure." She said kissing him again.

He quickly finished unbuttoning her shirt and divested himself of his. The skin on skin contact was filled with heat and he felt himself losing control a little as he kept kissing and touching her.

"Just... go slow, ok? I've never..." she said between kisses.

"Ok." He whispered back. He waited until her fingers attacked his jeans before he really believe what she was doing. He loved her and he knew she lacked experience, sexually anyway. He had forced himself into the habit of not pressuring her, satisfying himself with a few kisses and taking care of other needs himself. Still, it would taste a lie to say he had not thought about having sex with her.

But here she was, ready in his arms and pushing his pants off. Damn, he was a lucky guy after all.

"I love you." She whispered as she sucked on his earlobe, her fingers tangled in his hair.

"And I you."

* * *

_Clang. Clang. Clang._

Each can resounded in the quiet as they were hit by the BB bullets Natasha shot.

It was now Saturday evening and Natasha had spent all her time since the end of the game here, pouring her frustration into the BB gun she had taken from Clint's room.

She could not believe they had lost. Worse, that they had lost because of _Tony_. The son of a bitch better watch his damn balls come Monday, because chances were she would cut them off herself.

The worse part was that she knew there was nothing else she could have done. She had tried to talk to Bruce to get him to come back, with late results. She had tried to call Tony about eighteen times before the game started. And she had played to the best of her abilities, and beyond. The fact was that the Titans defense were a hell of a lot bigger than her and even if she was faster, the field was only so wide before she had to cut inside.

_Clang. Clang. Clang._

She heard the footsteps approaching, and tensed until she recognized them. It was a little strange to hear Clint shuffling without his cast anymore.

"Natasha? Are you alright?"

"Fine." _Clang._

"You know its not your fault." She tensed again. Clang.

"I know." _Clang._

"You can't let one little loss get you down. We are still in the playoffs. We are just not first anymore."

"We are tied for first." _Clang_.

"Natasha, put the gun down." _Thonk_. She missed.

"What do you want Clint."

"I want to talk to you." She turned to glare at him, before reloading the gun.

"I don't want to hear it."

"Its not about football. Or about you for that matter. Its about me."

"Congrats, your cast is off."

"Natasha..."

She glanced back at him and was struck to see the hurt look on his face. Dammit. Sighing, she put the gun down and walked up to him, wrapping her arms around his chest and letting him hug her back. She suddenly felt guilty for snipping at him and just a little more for taking comfort from his hug. She was not a very good girlfriend at all.

"I'm sorry. I'm just pissed. What's up."

"You know that career counseling, we all have to take?"

"Yeah?"

"Mine was this week. Monday actually. And I kinda made a decision. About the future."

"Ok?"

"I'm joining the army. Once school is done obviously. But yeah."

Natasha stared at him. Of all the things she thought he was about to say, that was not one of them.

"You're serious."

"Completely."

"Really?"

"Really really."

"Are you sure?"

"Natasha."

"Sorry, this is just... I never thought that you wanted to..."

"I know. I never thought about it either. The counselor proposed it. I've been thinking a lot about it since then. And the idea has kinda grown on me."

She took a step back and looked at him, studying him, and trying to imagine him in camo. It was strange how quick the mental image came, and even more so, how well it fitted.

"Wow."

"What do you think?"

"I think that it fits really well." he smiled at her, before leaning in to kiss her.

"Come on, lets get some food." He said, taking her hand and grabbing the gun before leading the way out of the clearing and back to the parking lot. "Have you thought about what you want to do after high school?"

"No. I've kinda focused on football lately."

"That is the other thing I wanted to talk to you about." She glanced at him curiously. "The cast is off now,"

"Yes, it is." She felt herself tensing, and forced herself to relax, as they reached Clint's old truck.

"I'll be back next week."

"Yeah."

"So I guess you are done with football now?" Natasha paused and thought. Football had grown on her. A lot. She loved the rush of being out there. Of scoring the touchdown, of ducking the defender, even being tackled wasn't so bad. She would miss in it. A lot.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know."

"I might stay on. If that is ok with everyone. Second string probably, with you back, but... what?" His brow was knitted with worry.

"You are as good as I am, if not better. You'd be first over me."

"Oh, Clint, stop with the self pity act..."

"Its not self pity. I've watched you become damn good Natasha. And I know I'm not in top shape right now, and its going to take more than a week to change that. If you stay on, there is no way I'm starting again this year."

"Please. You are a guy, therefore you will start."

"Don't you dare turn this into a sexist thing!"

"I'm not, its already there!"

"Stop it! Natasha!" She glared at him.

"You don't want me to stay on because you think you won't get to play again."

"Well, yeah!"

"That is bullshit!"

"Is it?" She started rubbing her temples furiously.

"Clint, you are the better player. End of story. I'd just stay on as back up, if we're up forty to nothing."

"Fine. Lets leave it up to Bruce and Fury. When you start for the rest of the season, and win State, which you don't even _want_ to do, don't wonder why I'm not talking to you anymore."

"You're being ridiculous!"

"You're being a bitch!" He yelled, shoving himself into his truck and taking off, leaving her standing there, nearly screaming in frustration.

* * *

Phew. Lots more to come! I now have a few ideas, but I'm curious about what you want to see. So please review!


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